Today is March 1st. That is significant in that teams can now trade players that were signed in the offseason (think Wilcox, Pietrus, Daniels, etc.). The other relevant date that I'm sure you are all aware of is March 15th, the trading deadline. So we're down to a 2 week window to decide the fate of the team for this season and likely the foreseeable future.
Multiple outlets are reporting that Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers are convinced that this current group is no longer a contending team. So they are actively exploring trade possibilities and nobody on the roster is safe. Ainge can be very creative in situations like this, doing the unexpected and using every loophole he can find to get he deal he wants. It doesn't always work out as planned, but he leaves no stone unturned.
As I've been saying for months, the team shouldn't feel an urgent need to make a deal just for the sake of making a deal because the team is already set up very nicely to start over this summer with lots of cap space and flexibility. With that said, the options are few in the free agent market beyond Dwight Howard and Deron Williams, neither of whom is expected to give Boston more than a passing glance.
So the Celtics might just decide to get what they can for Rondo and/or the Big 3 now rather than wait till the summer. Over the next few days I'll be breaking down who could be on the way out of Boston and what kind interest other teams might have in them. And of course we'll give you all the latest breaking news as we hear it. Stay tuned.
