Celtics Stay Put At Deadline, Now Off To Bargain Bin!
BOSTON (CBS) – The NBA trade deadline came and went, and the Celtics Big 3 is still intact.
President Danny Ainge opted to give his aging core one more shot at a playoff run, then having the wiggle room this offseason with the expiring contracts of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
That, or no one would give in to his demands.
There were rumors that contenders were calling about Allen, and some were offering a young player or draft pick, but Ainge wanted both for the NBA's All-Time three-point king. In the end, that price tag was too high.
Interest in Paul Pierce also picked up with the deadline approaching, but an expiring contract and a first rounder was too rich for other GMs.
Does this make sense to keep an older roster intact this year after pretty much blowing it up last deadline? No. But that's Danny Ainge for you.
Read: NBA Trade Deadline Live Blog
So it appears the Celtics are going forward with what they have, at least for now. They have until March 23 to add players to the roster and have them be eligible for the playoffs, so Ainge will be scouring the buyouts and D-League for any able bodies that can clog up the paint and grab a few rebounds.
Boston is in desperate need of a big man with Chris Wilcox done for the season and Jermaine O'Neal likely out for the season (or only interested in playing for Miami). Center Chris Wilcox could be bought out by the New Orleans Hornets, and would fit nicely down low, allowing Garnett to move back to power forward (although with his recent emergence, why would you want to?). But with the Hornets owned by the NBA, who really knows what David Stern is thinking at any given second?
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So no, it was not the exciting (and depressing) trade deadline of a year ago, but it's hard to fault Ainge for keeping his expiring contracts and waiting to rebuild this offseason. Since he wasn't able to add any addition pieces via trade, now it's off to the bargain bin, hoping a PJ Brown will fall on to his lap again.
As long as it's not another Troy Murphy, Ainge's trade deadline silence is OK in my books.
