After leaving the Detroit Pistons for Chicago in 2006, Ben Wallace said on Wednesday night that returning to The Palace to take on his former team has lost its thrill, the Detroit News is reporting.

Wallace was since traded from the Bulls to Cleveland, who were defeated by the Pistons last night.

"Coming back here, I used to look forward to competing against these guys," Wallace said. "I knew what they were going to bring to the table and how they were going to play and it made for some exciting basketball games. Now some of the thrill is gone."

"It's strange coming in here now and this guy's not here any more, and that guy's not here and then a couple more guys are gone," he said. "The numbers keep getting smaller (of guys he played with here), and that is a little strange."