Danny Ainge and the Celtics have admitted that they are looking around at trade possibilities but have downplayed that option somewhat. Of course you can't believe anyone this time of year, but I think the signs still point to the C's looking for buyout free agents. Wojo has a couple of Celtics related buyout rumors today.
Anthony distances himself from Nuggets - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
Trade talks have gone nowhere for [Troy] Murphy, who has an expiring contract. Nets GM Billy King will ultimately work a buyout to free Murphy to sign elsewhere. In addition to the Hornets, several other teams are expected to show interest in Murphy, including the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks, sources said.
Richard Hamilton will have to be willing to give back a significant portion of the two years, $25 million owed him to get a buyout on his contract. Sources said the Celtics still remain intrigued with Hamilton as a scorer off the bench.
Both players have name-recognition appeal but I'm not sure either fills our biggest need at the backup 3 position. On the other hand, if Shaq's condition worsens and the C's brass isn't 100% sure that Jermaine O'Neal can come back before the end of the year (and why would they be?), I woudn't rule out picking up a big man on the cheap.
With all that said, I wouldn't exactly rule out a trade either. We just won't know about the real possibilities until the last minute, if not till after the fact. Mark Cuban summed it up well...
"Relative to other years in terms of trade talk, I don’t think it’s really any different,’’ Cuban told The Boston Globe. "It always goes through the same process. There’s one or two early trades. We saw that with Orlando, and then everybody waits until the last possible second. And then you hit the trade deadline and they recognize it’s the last chance to save money or to do something. That’s when things happen. "That’s one of the challenges and problems the league has is that a lot of GMs like to wait until the last second.’’
Which brings me to the usual reminder this time of year: Everyone is lying! So you know, act accordingly.