Rasheed Wallace has come out of retirement and joined the New York Knicks, American media have confirmed.
It ends a two-year hiatus for Wallace, 38, who retired in 2010 for ‘personal reasons’. But current Knicks coach Mike Woodson helped bring the power forward back to the NBA after extensive talks in the summer.
Woodson was an assistant coach at Detroit Pistons in 2004 when he and Wallace won an NBA title. Wallace said Woodson reached out to him to see if he wanted to return to the NBA and the four-time All-Star took him up on his offer.
“I’ve been talking to coach Woodson for the last six, seven months off and on,” Wallace said. “He’s told me his ideas. He’s told me his plans. I just want to see if I can fit in there.”
There will be question marks over Wallace’s fitness and conditioning as he has been away from basketball for two years but the 6’10 forward has said that he has been playing regular pick-up games at his alma mater, North Carolina.
Wallace is expected to be ready for the start of the new NBA season on November 1.
