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Celtics Rumors: Josh Smith, Garnett, Rondo

March 2nd, 2012 at 9:38am CST by Luke Adams

Keyon Dooling tells Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com that "switching teams is like switching clothes," and that trades can be a good thing, since you get to "live all across our beautiful country." Dooling's words of wisdom could be relevant for some of his teammates within the next couple weeks. Let's dive in to the latest Celtics-related rumors….

Celtics GM Danny Ainge is pursuing Josh Smith and "other young studs," according to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. Lawrence says that Ainge is offering up Kevin Garnett, and that Ray Allen and Paul Pierce could also be had for young talent and draft picks. As intriguing as Garnett's huge expiring contract is, I can't picture the Hawks parting with Smith and another player (for salary purposes) to rent KG for two months.
While teams are calling on Rajon Rondo, the Celtics haven't been overly receptive, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com. Given Rondo's talent, age, and contract, Boston would want a franchise player for him, says Mannix (Twitter link).
Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe echoes Mannix's sentiment, writing that the Celtics shouldn't and won't trade Rondo for a player like Pau Gasol or Stephen Curry, who wouldn't necessarily advance the rebuilding process.
Sources tell Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald that deals for Gasol or Curry weren't discussed, but that the Celtics would trade Rondo if it meant getting a top-five point guard in return, which I assume goes without saying.
Another source to Murphy: "They’re desperate to (trade Rondo). He’s the only real asset they have. The other guys, the Big Three, aren’t assets at this point…. All I know right now is that if Ainge is calling me right now, I have him over a barrel." With respect to Murphy's source, I have to disagree on the values of Garnett, Pierce, and Allen, who I think plenty of contenders would love to have.

Rajon Rondo Rumors: Thursday

March 1st, 2012 at 6:18pm CST by Luke Adams

As Rajon Rondo rumors heated up yesterday, the Celtics' point guard went out and put up a triple-double on the Bucks, en route to a 102-96 win. Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes that Rondo was happier about the job he did on defense, holding Brandon Jennings to six points on 2-of-11 shooting. While we wait to see if the 26-year-old continues to play at the top of his game amidst trade rumors, let's round up today's Rondo items right here (newest items on top)….

A Celtics source reiterated to NBA.com's David Aldridge that Rondo is not on the trading block, despite the recent surge of interest (link via Twitter).
Appearing on WEEI in Boston, GM Danny Ainge said of Rondo, "I've made zero calls to try to trade him, and I won't" (link via ESPN Boston).
Celtics coach Doc Rivers told Jackie MacMullan of ESPN Boston he's tired of hearing reports suggesting he and Rondo don't get along, or reports that the Celtics are shopping Rondo: "My relationship with Rajon is as strong as it has ever been. Our communication has never been better. I want him here. I can say with almost 100% certainty he will be here with us when the season ends."
Within MacMullan's piece, two GMs who were involved (as potential third teams) in trade talks involving Rondo and Chris Paul in the offseason confirmed they haven't received calls regarding Rondo since then.
Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are drawing more trade interest than Rondo, reports A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
Asked about Rondo's future, Ainge said, "I anticipate him being here for a long time," according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. Ainge added that he isn't actively shopping Rondo, who Ainge says is getting along "better than ever" with Rivers.
Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe hears from a source that the Celtics are just listening to offers on Rondo, rather than actively trying to dump him. ESPN.com's Chris Broussard reported yesterday that the Celtics were aggressively shopping Rondo, which echoed an earlier report that suggested Boston was initiating talks involving its point guard. Either way, it's clear the Celtics are at least talking about Rondo with teams.
Appearing on The Dan Patrick Show, Sam Smith of Bulls.com said he thinks GM Danny Ainge will try to make a "big splash" by dealing Rondo, adding that the point guard and Rivers don't get along well (hat tip to CSNNE.com). Broussard expressed a similar sentiment on SportsCenter (via ESPNBoston.com): "[Rondo] has trouble taking constructive criticism and he does clash a lot with Doc Rivers. They know he's a great player. They're not going to just give him away. But they feel like they probably can't rebuild around him because of the problems they do have with clashing with his personality."

Atlantic Rumors: Williams, Chandler, Celtics

February 29th, 2012 at 8:27am CST by Luke Adams

Seeking to clarify comments he made on Monday, Nets coach Avery Johnson reiterated last night that, while he views the Mavericks and Mark Cuban as a threat to sign Deron Williams this summer, he still expects his point guard to return to the Nets.

"I think somebody kind of got it twisted where the focus was more on the threat and saying that I said that I think he’s going to Dallas, which I never said, never said that," Johnson told reporters, including Andy Vasquez of the Bergen Record. "I said that [Cuban was a threat] because anybody that’s under the cap would be a threat to get a guy that’s a unbelievable point guard. But I said I believe he has every intention to re-sign."

Here are a few more morning rumors on Williams and the rest of the Atlantic Division:

Talking to Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld, Williams admitted he isn't sure whether he'll be a Net next year.
Within the same HoopsWorld piece, Pincus says that the Nuggets have offered a multiyear deal to Wilson Chandler, but that it's not as lucrative as Chandler hoped. Still, the Raptors likely won't sign the 24-year-old to an offer sheet, says Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. Although Toronto hasn't moved on entirely, the club is currently put off by Chandler's asking price.
Wolstat adds that it appears the Raptors are listening to trade inquiries made by other teams rather than actively seeking deals themselves.
Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, appearing on NBC's SportsTalk, says the Celtics have been actively pursuing trades, and won't hesitate to break up their core in the right deal. Wojnarowski speculates that, of Boston's "big three," Paul Pierce may be the most likely trade candidate, since Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett have contracts that Boston could simply let expire.

Assessing Stocks: Boston Celtics

February 9th, 2012 at 9:56pm CST by Jesse Blanchard

Portfolio Review: There is a difference between a team maxed out at mediocrity, and a championship team that has aged its way there. The Boston Celtics find themselves looking up at the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls, but have just enough fight left to compete and perhaps take advantage of the right matchup or injury to make one last run.

On the one hand, Danny Ainge has expressed no fear in blowing this up and rebuilding should the opportunity present itself. On the other, the Celtics gave up all their young assets save for Rajon Rondo in building this team. And years of building on the fringes around the Big Three have left the team bereft of young assets and high picks that teams covet in trades.

Prime assets: Ainge has expressed a willingness to move any of the Big Three. Unfortunately each of them are long past the wrong side of 30 and short of finding a sudden contender holding onto another team's potential lottery pick to deal with–as the Clippers were this summer holding the Timberwolves unprotected pick–most teams with prime young assets aren't going to give away great potential for one or two years of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, or Ray Allen.

Their absolute ceiling might be a return of boom or bust prospects (think Michael Beasley with the Miami Heat) and mid-to-late first round picks.

That leaves Rajon Rondo as the Celtics best trade asset, and the only one capable of returning a sure All-Star. He also remains the Celtics best player. Which means any deal involving Rondo should be made for one last run or at the beginning of a complete teardown of this one-time championship team.

Worthless stock: Just about everything else. From Chris Wilcox to Jermaine O'Neal to Keyon Dooling, the rest of the Celtics rotation is comprised of replacement level players–generic skill sets whose contributions could be matched by plucking younger developmental players with bigger potential. The roster has limited flexibility to improve and the entirety of this season depends on the health and legs of Allen, Garnett, Pierce, and Rondo.

The one exception, diversifying: One trade the Celtics might be able to make without blowing up their playoffs hopes is moving Ray Allen for two rotation players of a lesser quality. Shooting is an easy skill set to find, even if it's not as potent as Allen. And more depth and versatility among the lineup might give the Celtics just enough punch.