The Celtics got a needed boost at center with Chris Wilcox last night, but they are still kind of thin at the position. So it would only make sense to look at Chris Kaman, who has been officially been put on the trading block by the NBA err, New Orleans Hornets. Gary Washburn reports that the Celtics are interested, to a point.
#celtics will pursue Chris Kaman if he is bought out by the #hornets but not by trade
Is there a chance that he could be bought out instead of traded? It wouldn't seem as likely, but the Hornets are backing themselves into a corner by shutting him down until he's traded.
New Orleans Hornets center-forward Chris Kaman not with team | NOLA.com
New Orleans Hornets backup center-forward Chris Kaman is not with the team right now because of an organizational decision, team officials said Friday night. The Hornets are expected to pursue trade offers for Kaman, who has an expiring contract that pays him about $14 million this season.
Also, it seems that the league offices running the Hornets are going to drive the same kind of hard bargaining that they pulled with the Chris Paul trade.
As NBA/Hornets survey trade market for Chris Kaman, Rockets, Pacers, Jazz, Spurs are a few teams with interest, sources tell Y!
To be clear, Jazz checked on Kaman some time ago but doesn't make sense now. Detroit likes him, needs center. Most teams have found Hornets asking price for Kaman too high. "They were asking for draft picks, cap space and a young player," one executive says.
That's way to steep a price for the Celtics right now and it sounds like it might be too high for anyone. So there's a chance they could find no offers and decide to waive him, though not likely before the trade deadline. So don't hold your breath for it any time soon. And even then we'd have to compete with the Heat and other contenders looking for a short term solution at center.