Report: Rivers, Garnett Trade Talks Still Ongoing Between Celtics And Clippers
BOSTON (CBS) - While it appeared as though the deal between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers that would send Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett out West had fizzled out over the weekend, the blockbuster is still brewing.
While the deal has been "close to done" or "slowing down" for much of the afternoon -- depending on who pops up on your Twitter timeline -- it appears both teams would like to get something done on Monday.
According to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, the Celtics have backed off their stance that guard Eric Bledsoe would have to be included in any deal for the head coach and future Hall of Famer. With that, the two teams are now back at the negotiating table in hopes of completing a deal on Monday.
The Celtics are reportedly asking for more financial flexibility in any deal, and are asking Los Angeles to take back an existing contract in addition to Garnett and Rivers -- likely either guard Jason Terry or Courtney Lee.
The proposed deal that created a stir on Saturday would net Boston a package that includes forward/center DeAndre Jordan, a first round pick and Bledsoe for Rivers and Garnett. But the Clippers do not want to part with the 23-year-old guard, and though he was reluctant to over the weekend, Celtics GM Danny Ainge is now looking at other options to come from LA.
Wojnarowski also writes that it would be hard for Boston to bring back Rivers, who has three years remaining on a five-year extension he signed with the Celtics, after the deal became so public over the weekend.
"The prospects of bringing Rivers back to the Celtics have become less appealing for Boston, who understand, as one league executive said, 'There's no putting the genie back in the bottle. You can't pretend this didn't happen and just go back to work,'" he writes.
