Over a year and a half since he last played in an NBA game, Rasheed Wallace will come out of retirement and sign with the Lakers, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.

Wallace played for the Celtics in 2009/10, but had the rest of his contract bought out by the team and retired that summer. While the 37-year-old hasn't played since Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals, he was said to be contemplating a comeback earlier this season.

The Lakers, with 14 players on their roster, won't have to make a move to clear a spot for Wallace. There had been speculation that the team could sign Gilbert Arenas using that roster spot, but the Lakers didn't make a move after watching Arenas work out in L.A. As for Wallace, Blakely hears from sources that a renewed conditioning regimen has the veteran big man looking better than he has "in years." Still, as a rival executive tells Blakely, Wallace will merely provide bench depth for the Lakers — adding him doesn't necessarily mean the team is more inclined to move Pau Gasol.

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reported in early February that the Lakers may have some interest in Wallace if Kenyon Martin signed elsewhere. Martin, of course, ended up in Los Angeles, but signed with the Clippers, not the Lakers.