NBA Trade Deadline Live Blog: Celtics Stand Pat
BOSTON (CBS) - The NBA Trade deadline is 3pm Thursday afternoon, and as we all learned last year, the Celtics can do anything at any time.
Stick with CBSBostonsports.com's Live NBA Trade deadline blog and 98.5 The Sports Hub for all the breaking Celtics and NBA trades.
3:38pm
The dust has settled on the NBA Trade Deadline, and all Celtics fans have to show are hopes that Chris Kaman gets bought out by New Orleans. They didn't pick up anyone that can help them the rest of the way, but they also didn't have to give up any of their future assets and the Big 3 gets one more playoff ride together, however short that may be.
Read: Now What For Celtics?
It looks like the real winners of the day are the Los Angeles Lakers. They picked up the point guard they have been looking for in Ramon Sessions and added more size with seven-footer Jordan Hill. All they gave up in return was Derek Fisher, Luke Walton and two first round picks.
The Spurs helped themselves a bit picking up Stephen Jackson from the Warriors, and the Pacers added a versatile guard/forward in Leandro Barbosa, but overall it was a quiet deadline day. At least if you ignored everything involving Dwight Howard....
3:03pm
Here's a deadline shocker. The Lakers have traded Derek Fisher and a first-round pick (Dallas' 2012 first-round pick that LA acquired in the Lamar Odom trade) to the Rockets for center Jordan Hill.
The Lakers were already in good shape down low with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. Hill gives them more depth, and means Troy Murphy may never see a basketball court again.
3:01pm
It's that time, and it appears the Celtics have remained intact... We'll know more in the next 10-15 minutes...
2:31pm
Yahoo! Sports is reporting the Houston Rockets have acquired Marcus Camby from the Portland Trail Blazers. Camby has always been a player that would have fit in well with the Celtics; a defensive center that can rebound. Add him to the front court with KG and that is one scary defensive duo.
The Rockets sent Johnny Flynn and Hasheem Thabeet for the 37-year-old Camby, two young players that haven't lived up to their NBA potential after being drafted early in the lottery. Portland also gets a second-round pick in the deal.
The Warriors have also sent newly acquired Stephen Jackson to the Spurs for Richard Jefferson.
2:02pm
One hour to go...
It's quiet on the Celtics front, minus a few Ray Allen and Jermaine O'Neal rumors. Then again, it was the same way last year at this point prior to the deadline.
The best bet for the Celtics at this point, just let the season play out. Try and pick up a big man either from buyouts or the scrap heap, and hope to get on a roll entering the playoffs. If not, let the contracts expire and start to rebuild around Rondo, Pierce and your two first-round picks.
1:40pm
The Lakers have reportedly gotten the point guard they've been looking for, or at least, A point guard.
Los Angeles acquired Cavaliers point guard Ramon Sessions and Christian Eyenga for Luke Walton and a 2012 first-round pick. Sessions is averaging 10.5 points and 5.2 assists per game this season, and will likely take over for Derek Fisher as the Lakers starting point guard.
With this trade, all the Rajon Rondo for Pau Gasol talk can be put to rest.
1:24pm
In their attempt to surround point guard Deron Williams with some talent, the New Jersey Nets sent Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams and a 2012 draft pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for Gerald Wallace.
Wallace is a solid, veteran wing player with a player option for next season.
1:06pm
Interesting note from Wojnarowski, who tweeted that Jermaine O'Neal is angling for a buyout from the Celtics. The Celtics would much rather include his expiring contract in a trade this afternoon, and get something in return for the injured big man.
O'Neal apparently wants the buyout so he can return (try to return) to the Miami Heat.So much for wrist surgery...
1:02pm
After about 300 changes of heart, it appears, based on several reports, that Dwight Howard will officially stay with the Magic through this season and next. ESPN reports that he's put this in writing, thereby eliminating the possibility of Howard getting traded today or changing his mind again.
12:57pm
Apparently, Danny Ainge is tough to deal with on deadline day.
"I'm through, done dealing with (Celtics') Danny Ainge. Bleep him," one NBA GM told Sam Amico.
Sounds nice.
11:35am
Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that several contending teams are inquiring about Ray Allen, with Danny still looking for a young talent and first-round pick.
Teams right now are offering one, but not the other. We'll see if that changes come 2:55pm...
11:22am
Another minor trade in the Eastern Conference. The Indiana Pacers have have acquired forward Leandro Barbosa from the Raptors for a second-round pick, according to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
This likely takes the Pacers out of the Chris Kaman sweepstakes, which could help the C's. However, if Kaman ends up sticking with New Orleans through the deadline and is bought out, expect the Heat to be the C's main competition for the big man.
Let's hope if they get Kaman over the Heat, it doesn't turn out like the Troy Murphy signing last season...
11:00am
Finally, a trade! Not really a big trade, but the Philadelphia 76ers have acquired forward Sam Young from the Memphis Grizzlies for the rights to 2005 second-round pick Ricky Sanchez.
Young can be a solid scorer but had trouble finding time on the floor in Memphis. He could give Philly some more pop off the bench, as they try to close out the Atlantic Division and lock up the four-seed in the Eastern Conference.
With their win over Golden State last night, the Celtics sit just 1.5 games behind the Sixers in the division.
9:50am
- Still quiet on the Celtics front, but the Dwight Howard saga continues. He now says he will NOT opt out of his deal at the end of the season and remain in Orlando, according to ESPN's Chris Broussard.
With all his flip-flopping and holding the Magic hostage, Orlando should trade Howard to the highest bidder anyways and relieve themselves of the drama and ensuing headaches. Get something for him while they can instead of ending up like the Cavaliers when Lebron James left. That, and it will likely help the Celtics move up in the standings...
8:30am
-So far it's fairly quiet on the Celtics front on deadline day, as Chris Mannix predicted it would be last night when he joined The DA Show.
There are a few rumbles about acquiring a big man out there, which the Celtics drastically need with Chris Wilcox now out for the year. CSNNE's A. Sherrod Blakely reported the Celtics will make a push for Hornets center Chris Kaman, but that will likely come when (if) he is bought out after the deadline.
Gallery: Danny's Trades
There was a rumor out that the Celtics have inquired with the Sacramento Kings about forward JJ Hickson (the guy the Cavaliers refused to trade for Amare Stoudemire a few years ago). The 23-year-old is having a down year, and might be able to be had on the cheap. Hickson is a decent rebounder, and could run with Rondo. Maybe he just needs a change of scenery to turn things around (he is on the Kings...).
Danny Ainge would love to make this year's team better with a big man, but he won't do it at the expense of the future. Boston has two first round picks, and the expiring contracts of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, which could prove to be more valuable when the season ends rather than as trade chips on Thursday.
Read: KG Leads Celtics Past Warriors 105-103
The Celtics do have some contracts to move, just not much by way of talent (aside from the Big 4, of course). Marquis Daniels and Sasha Pavlovic are two players that could be traded, just to be traded, much like Daniels' was dumped last year to clear roster space (it was actually a salary dump for the Celtics, and put the Kings over the minimum salary requirements).
So early morning, it appears the Celtics may be quiet at the deadline, maybe adding a big man if the price is right. Then again, a lot of people thought the same as of 3:30pm last year, and look what happened....
