BOSTON – It looks like Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has found at least one piece of the puzzle that he believes will give Boston a greater chance to win the world championship – Detroit free agent Rasheed Wallace.

Ainge wants Wallace in a Celtics uniform so much so that he, along with Celtics managing partner Wyc Grousbeck, coach Doc Rivers, and Kevin Garnett, reportedly went to Michigan on Thursday to recruit him, and Paul Pierce and Ray Allen may also fly out to Michigan, as well.

After saying that the Celtics were interested in Wallace during a press conference in Waltham on Wednesday morning, Ainge went into further detail about the Wallace situation in an interview with Comcast Sportsnet reporter Gary Tanguay later that afternoon.

“We have interest in Rasheed,” Ainge told Tanguay. “We’ll explore and talk to Rasheed’s people and try to visit with Rasheed and see if he has any interest in us.”

The Celtics aren’t the only team that have either sent or are sending representatives to Michigan to recruit Wallace, but Ainge hopes that Wallace’s friendships with Garnett, Pierce and Allen will give him more incentive to play for Boston, which is willing to give him the full $5.8 million mid-level exception for two seasons.

Wallace, however, made $12 million last season and could be seeking more money.

“He’s been in the league with Ray and Paul and KG and I think he knows those guys and respects them and I think that could be a benefit,” Ainge said. “I think he would love playing with those guys.”

Because Ainge said on Wednesday that the Celtics have not met any free agents to discuss coming to Boston, it appears that Wallace will be the first free agent that the Celtics will meet in person, but he won’t be the last.

“We have an interest in a lot of free agents, on different levels,” Ainge said. “We have different needs. I think everybody’s trying to get a feel to where the market is. I think a lot of players start on July 1st with big dollar signs in their eyes, and then some of them get it, and some of them don’t. And some of them come looking for anything later in the summer.

“So, it will be interesting to see how the summer goes. There’s always guys who have big dollar signs who don’t get what they’re hoping for. That’s their agents’ job, to ask for whatever they can, and settle for what’s available.’’

Wallace, if he can keep his emotions in check, can be a big help to the Celtics, especially considering that Boston appears willing to part ways with Leon Powe given the fact that they did not give the unrestricted free agent a qualifying offer and that Ainge said that Powe (knee surgery) won’t be healthy enough to play until mid-season at the earliest.

The 6-foot-11, 230-pound, 34-year-old Wallace is a four-time all-star and former NBA champion with 153 games of playoff experience.

While his statistics are declining, he still averaged 12.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for Detroit last season in 32.2 minutes per game. He was selected as an all-star in 2008.

“He’s a good player, that’s why there are a lot of good teams out there that would try to pursue Rasheed,” Ainge said. “There’s no question, he’s a good player.”

Wallace’s agent Bill Strickland told the Boston Globe that Wallace is also interesteded in playing for the Celtics.

With Powe looking more and more likely that he will sign with another team and Glen Davis’s contract still up in the air, landing Wallace would be a big boost to Boston’s frontcourt.

Ainge said that the Celtics are ready to re-sign Davis, but Davis is still seeing how much money he can get with another team before he makes a decision. Ainge, however, feels confident that Davis will play in Boston next year.

“Everything has been pretty positive with Glen,” Ainge said. “We haven’t had negotiations with Glen. Right now Glen will be out there testing the market and seeing what the market dictates.”

If another team offers Davis more money than Boston, the Celtics can match that offer.

Some other free agents on Boston’s radar include, but are not limited to, forwards Grant Hill (Phoenix), Antonio McDyess (Detroit), Zaza Pachulia (Atlanta), Lamar Odom (Lakers), Anthony Parker (Toronto), and Jamario Moon (Miami); center Chris Wilcox (New York); and guard Marquis Daniels (Indiana).

 “We made calls with quite a few free agents’ representatives late last night from my office to let them know we have interest,” Ainge said on Wednesday. “We contacted 10 free agents and tried to get some feedback in what they are looking for and their interest long term.”