Danny Ainge knows you want him to make a move. He also knows that he shouldn't top his hand or make other GMs think he's desperate. So he trots out the same old denials and GM-speak he always does. Herald:
Just because the Celtics lost to their two chief Western Conference rivals doesn’t mean Ainge believes his team was exposed. Like several other teams, he attempted to talk Alonzo Mourning out of retirement and recently was turned down by the big man. Ditto for old friend P.J. Brown.
He still could make a trade. Just don’t count on one.
“Nothing imminent,” Ainge said yesterday. “There’s nothing that we’re close to doing.”
Of course this changes nothing. Something could coalesce in a matter of hours if the right team makes a hard decision about their roster and decides to make a move. He always leaves that door open.
“I doubt it,” Ainge said of the chance he will make a move by the trading deadline. “But there is always a chance.”
My feeling is that the team has no interest in making a move before the deadline (unless it is a no-brainer deal) because they have so few assets to offer in deals. I'm thinking they'll just wait till after the deadline and see what shakes out from the guys that get cut before March.