Ben Wallace said he is thinking about retirement, ESPN reported.
“I’m going to sit down and talk with my family, weigh my options and come up with a decision,” the 34-year-old Wallace said after Cleveland’s 103-90 loss. “Nothing’s definite, but there’s a strong possibility that this was my last season.”
Wallace has one year and $14 million left on his contract but he said money is not going to be a factor in his decision. His declining health is the main reason. Wallace missed 25 games due to injury this season, sitting out with a right forearm laceration, a fractured right fibula, a bruised left knee and a strained left patella tendon.
“It’s tough being on the sidelines when you’re banged up,” he said. “Then you’ve got to put in all that work to get back in the rotation. It’s becoming a young man’s game.”
Wallace will seek a buyout with the Cavaliers, but if that doesn’t work, that will not change his mind.
“I think I deserve [a buyout],” Wallace said. “But if I don’t get one and I’ve just got to give it up, that’s what I’ll do.”
Wallace averaged 10.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks for his career, including a career-high 15.4 rebounds in 2002-03. Wallace averaged just 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks for the Cavs this season. Coming off the bench against the Magic, he averaged 2.7 rebounds in 12 minutes this series.