Rumor: Boston and Denver have discussed Ty Lawson trade

In his Trade Deadline Primer, Grantland's Zach Lowe highlights the Denver Nuggets as potential big sellers over the next couple of days, with Wilson Chandler, Arron Afflalo, Kenneth Faried, and most notably to the Celtics, Ty Lawson:

The sense around the league is that you could land Lawson or Faried with a Godfather offer. They are gettable. Boston and Denver have had exploratory talks about Lawson, per several sources.

Lowe goes on to say about the Celtics' chances of landing the 5'11 point guard:

Denver isn't dealing Lawson unless it gets a bounty in return. Three teams stand out as potential suitors should they decide to go all in:

Boston. The C's have a thousand draft picks, two big trade exceptions, and a bushel of interesting young guys. It's unclear how interested they really are, and dealing for Lawson now would bring the risk of a semi-unwanted playoff appearance. Boston will not include Marcus Smart in any Lawson deal.

After this season, Lawson has just over $25M left on his remaining deal over the next two seasons.  If Denver expects a "bounty in return," we're probably talking about some combination of first round picks and/or a Young player in return (pun intended).  Think a Rajon Rondo type trade but in reverse.  If Ainge could somehow convince Tim Connelly, Denver's GM, to eat the final year of Gerald Wallace's dead weight, could two firsts with some protection be worth it?

For Boston, it would make for an interesting fit on the floor.  If Ainge doesn't intend to include Marcus Smart, he's loading up Brad Stevens' back court a la the Phoenix Suns.  Smart is slowly learning the pick-and-roll pro game and Evan Turner is the only real playmaker on the roster right now; adding Lawson would give Boston a legit penetrator.  With the way the ball moves around in the motion offense, it could work, but this could also simply be an asset management move for Danny, too.  Lawson's contract is very cap friendly and could be flipped later this summer to move up in the draft or to a contender next season for first round picks farther in the future.