He's a free agent scorer, he's willing to sign for the league's veteran minimum, and he sat next to Danny Ainge during the Celtics' 85-57 loss to San Antonio in the Reebok Pro Summer League last night.

It remains to be seen whether former Knick forward John Wallace, who played in Greece last year, is actually what the Celtics need. Scoring was decidedly more his forte than defense during Wallace's four seasons in New York.

But you never know.

``I've talked with maybe 25 free agents so far,'' Ainge said, attempting to deflect some of the attention. ``It depends on how things work out, but yes, we're talking to him.''

Wallace, who said he also has meetings planned with officials from Miami and Minnesota, loves the idea of stepping into Jim O'Brien's offense.

``He has a great offense going,'' said Wallace. ``I'd like to play for Boston. I love to run, and this is a fun team, with two stars in Antoine (Walker) and Paul Pierce.

``I hope something comes out of it,'' he said. ``We'll sit down (today) and talk about it.''