As the trade deadline approached, there was lots of trade talk.
Breaking Up The Band: Latest Celtics Big Three Trade Rumors - CelticsBlog
Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News is reporting that there might be a KG for Josh Smith trade in the works. He's an intriguing talent with another year and a former teammate of Rondo's from Oak Hill Academy.
Rumor: Celtics Can't Get Value For Rondo - CelticsBlog
Here we go again. The rumor show surrounding Rajon Rondo is back for another encore act. Despite Doc and Danny's denials of personality conflicts (and really, what else were they going to say?) the rumors persist that all is not well in Beantown.
Everyone Is Available For A Price, But That Price Is High - CelticsBlog
The next couple of weeks will tell us exactly how Danny is evaluating this team. Not the games, per se. In theory, if Danny has already decided (as rumored) that this team can't compete, the team could win all the games between now and the trade deadline and Ainge would still be willing to trade anybody and everybody if necessary. But only and always for a price.
But ultimately there was no major action for the Celtics on trade day.
Trade Deadline Passes Quietly In Boston - CelticsBlog
Well, the trade deadline came and went for Boston. No deals were made, and it appears as if Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers and the rest of the Boston front office have made the decision to move forward with this season. It may not be glamorous, but with the cards that were dealt to Danny Ainge and the calls it appears as if he made, the price was just too high for Boston to make any worthwhile deals.
But there was a foreshadow of things to come.
MacMullan: Ray Allen May Move On In Offseason - CelticsBlog
"I really do think Ray [Allen] will move on," she said. "I think he’ll have some great opportunities to do so, I think he’s got some years left in him, and I think he’s a great sniper for a championship team -- could be the Lakers, could be Miami, the Bulls I know would love to have him. So he’s going to have all sorts of options."
But in the background, Doc made a seemingly minor tweak to the lineup that paid great dividends down the road.
Kevin Garnett Actually Thriving At Center - CelticsBlog
Garnett’s offensive production spikes when he’s at the five, according to 82games.com. He goes from dominant to merely good defensively, but the Celtics will take that tradeoff considering scoring points has been by far their biggest problem this season