Rivers confirms report that Allen deal fell through

Although Ray Allen has played just two games in the TD Garden since the trade deadline, that's two more than he almost would have played.

Yahoo! Sports reported that Allen was involved in a deal that sent him to Memphis for OJ Mayo and a pick, but the deal fell through in the last second.

Doc Rivers confirmed that report tonight.

How close was the deal to being done? Celtics GM Danny Ainge was already on the phone with Allen telling he had been traded. Nonetheless, Rivers downplayed it.

"I don't see it's a big deal, what was that, a month ago?" Rivers said. "I'm serious, I don't get the big deal of it. It was a scary moment for all of us."

"If you lose Ray, that's a scary moment. I wouldn't want to see Ray, Paul [Pierce], or Kevin [Garnett] ever moved. That's just how you are. Even if you got the best deal in the world, you're still losing guys you have an attachment with. That would be scary for me, or any of us."

Rivers hasn't been shy about his reluctance to part with the Big Three, although Ainge doesn't seem to mind at all. But even though the team was almost ripped apart, there hasn't been any negative response by them about it -- as seen by their play.

Asked what he had to say to the team after the deadline, Rivers said, "Nothing much at all really. Our guys are great. I mean, that's the point really. Afterwards we were all good and just move forward. That's what I love about this team."

Needless to say, the fact that Allen was thisclose to being traded probably doesn't bode well for a return to Boston for him next season.