Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Amico’s Latest: Garnett, Josh Smith, Millsap

February 12th, 2013 at 11:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio is hearing plenty of chatter from around the league, and shares a lot of information in his latest dispatch. He identifies the player receiving the most attention as the deadline approaches, and dishes on several big names. We'll cover the highlights here:

The Celtics are open to trading Kevin Garnett, but president of basketball ops Danny Ainge is looking for something to get "really, really excited" about, Amico writes. Garnett has a no-trade clause, and reportedly will only waive it if he's dealt to Los Angeles and the Celtics also trade Paul Pierce away.
Josh Smith is the most-talked-about name on the rumor mill at present, and Amico reiterates that the Spurs, Nets and Bobcats are among the teams that have interest in the athletic forward. The Nets are anxious to deal Kris Humphries, and could be looking to get a third team involved in talks with Atlanta to faciliate a Smith-Humphries deal. Cavs GM Chris Grant spent time on the phone with Nets GM Billy King last week, and Amico notes the close ties Grant shares with King, as well as the connection between Hawks GM Danny Ferry and King.
Grant wants more draft picks, and is apparently willing to rent some of the Cavs' ample cap space for a player whose deal expires after next season, as Humphries' does.
If they can't land Smith, plan B for the Nets might be Paul Millsap. We heard about Brooklyn's interest in the Jazz power forward earlier today.
Bulls GM Gar Forman also covets Smith and Millsap. Chicago has talked to the Nets about Carlos Boozer, but there's been no recent movement on that front.
Ersan Ilyasova and Brandon Jennings are available, but only for a team that makes an overwhelming offer to Bucks GM John Hammond.
The Mavs are publicly downplaying the chances of a trade before the deadline, but that's not the case behind the scenes, where basketball president Donnie Nelson is seeing what he can get for Shawn Marion.
Eric Gordon would love to return to his Indiana roots and the Hornets have interest in Danny Granger, but the Pacers and New Orleans have not discussed a Gordon-Granger swap.

Leandro Barbosa Out For Season

February 12th, 2013 at 2:55pm CST by Zachary Links

TUESDAY, 2:55pm: Multiple reporters, including ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (Twitter link), have confirmed that Barbosa will in fact miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

MONDAY, 9:34pm: After suffering a knee injury in the waning minutes of the third quarter, Celtics guard Leandro Barbosa had to be helped off of the court and was ruled out for the remainder of tonight's game against the Bobcats. Now, Kevin Garnett says that the team was informed that Barbosa will be out for the remainder of the year, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.

Losing Barbosa for the rest of the year would be a devastating blow to the C's as he was called upon to fill the void in the backcourt after Rajon Rondo's season ending injury. Boston still has Avery Bradley to pitch in at one-guard, but they will almost certainly look for additional help now that they are paper thin at the position.

Celtics Eyeing Mack, Not Considering West

February 12th, 2013 at 1:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Each week seems to bring news of another season-ending injury for the Celtics, who had already lost Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger for the year, and now appear on the verge of ruling out Leandro Barbosa for the rest of the season. As the team considers its free agent options, Shelvin Mack is a possibility, but Delonte West is not being considered, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).

Mack, 23, was on the Wizards' roster in camp, and though he didn't make the regular-season roster, Washington brought him back for a couple weeks before the contract guarantee deadline. After he was released for a second time by the Wizards, Mack secured two 10-day contracts with the 76ers. In between stints with NBA team, the Butler product earned a spot in the D-League's All-Star game, having averaged 19.6 PPG and 7.6 RPG in 19 contests with the Maine Red Claws this season. The Red Claws are the Celtics' D-League affiliate.

The Celtics are considering other options besides Mack, according to Wojnarowski, and there's no indication yet that the team is in a rush to make a move. With two open roster spots, the team could sign a player to a 10-day deal and still have a little roster flexibility at the trade deadline to add a player, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com suggests (Twitter link). It's possible Danny Ainge waits until after the trade deadline to re-assess the available options.

However, it doesn't sound as if West will be one of the options considered by the C's, despite the fact that he started his career in Boston and returned to the team in 2010/11. West was cut by the Mavericks earlier this season for off-court issues and hasn't caught on with another NBA team since then.

Atlantic Rumors: Knicks, Shumpert, Nets, Celtics

February 12th, 2013 at 9:54am CST by Luke Adams

Although the Knicks have slowed down a little since their torrid start to the season, Carmelo Anthony told reporters this weekend that he doesn't think the team should be involved in trade talks, a point he reiterated last night.

"I love this team, I love the chemistry on this team — if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it," Anthony said, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. "Right now we’re tops in our division. That was one of our goals. Second in the Eastern Conference, we’ll take that right now. There’s always a lot of talk around the Knicks come trade time. We don’t need that."

Here are a few more notes from around the Atlantic Division:

Glen Grunwald may not end up moving Iman Shumpert, but he's at least exploring some possibilities, says Berman. According to Berman, the Rockets' director of scouting attended Sunday's Knicks/Clippers game, though it's not clear whether he was there to observe more than just Shumpert.
Steve Popper of the Bergen Record and Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com both wonder whether or not Anthony is right about the Knicks not needing to make a deal.
The Nets would like to make a trade in the next nine days, and would be willing to dangle MarShon Brooks and perhaps a first-round pick along with Kris Humphries in the right deal, reports Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. When I examined Humphries' trade candidacy in December, I wrote that he may have to be packaged with Brooks and/or draft picks to draw much interest.
In addition to talking with the Hawks, the Nets have also had exploratory conversations with the Cavaliers, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com looks at four guards playing at the Celtics' D-League affiliate in Maine, noting that they could be candidates to join Boston's roster in the wake of Leandro Barbosa's injury.
While a D-League call-up is one option for the Celtics, Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com points out that there are plenty of others. However, Payne expects the team to stand pat until the trade deadline.

Spurs Talked Blair Trade With Raptors, Pistons

February 11th, 2013 at 9:17pm CST by Zachary Links

The Spurs offered forward DeJuan Blair to the Pistons and discussed a deal involving him with the Raptors, but nothing has come of those talks so far, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Broussard hears that the Celtics, Heat, and Trail Blazers are among the teams that could have interest in the 23-year-old.

Blair has been considered a trade candidate for quite some time and there has been friction between him and the club ever since he was effectively 86'd from the rotation in the 2012 postseason. The Pitt product is seeing less playing time than ever this season, averaging 13.9 minutes per contest versus 20.2 per game over the previous three years in San Antonio.

Recently, it was reported that the Warriors also have interest in acquiring Blair.

D-League Moves: Melo, Smith, Lamb

February 10th, 2013 at 1:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

We'll round up today's D-League assignments and recalls here, with the latest movement on top of the page.

Two days after re-assigning him to the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics have recalled Fab Melo, the team announced today in a press release. The rookie big man had six points and five rebounds in his lone game for the Red Claws this weekend.
Rockets center Greg Smith has been sent to the D-League, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Smith will join the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for the first time this season after spending 26 games with the Vipers last year. The 6'10" Smith is averaging 5.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in 13.9 minutes with the Rockets this season, but lost his spot in the rotation to Cole Aldrich over the past two games.
The Bucks have recalled rookie Doron Lamb from the D-League, the team announced via Twitter. Milwaukee sent him down to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants a week ago, and the 6'4" shooting guard has had mixed results in four games since, going scoreless on Wednesday against Sioux Falls and hitting for 24 points last night versus Iowa. In six D-League games over two separate stints, Lamb is averaging 10.3 points in 25.5 minutes per game. He's put up 3.4 PPG in 12.2 MPG with the Bucks, but hasn't seen action in an NBA contest since January 5th, the final game before Jim Boylan took over for Scott Skiles as coach.

Stein’s Latest: Clippers, Josh Smith, Randolph

February 8th, 2013 at 11:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

Marc Stein's Weekend Dime at ESPN.com is usually full of juicy rumors year-round, and with the trade deadline less than two weeks away, this week's edition is especially jam-packed. Let's dig in:

The Clippers went fishing for Kevin Garnett, and while the Celtics seem uninterested in such a swap, Stein expects Clippers to keep looking for deals as the trade deadline draws near. L.A. might like to send out DeAndre Jordan, who's eager for more playing time and whose lack of production has frustrated coach Vinny Del Negro, but the more likely trade chip is third-year point guard Eric Bledsoe. Stein hears there's a 99.5% chance Chris Paul re-signs this summer, but if the Clippers endure an early playoff exit, Paul's future, as well as Del Negro's job, could hang in the balance.
If the Hawks trade Josh Smith, they'll be looking for "a quality young center" in return.
The Grizzlies have told Zach Randolph they won't trade him, and Memphis is unlikely to make another move involving Randolph or anyone else. Still, despite coach Lionel Hollins' insistence that he and management are on the same page, the coach's dim view of the Rudy Gay trade has cast a pall on the locker room, as Stein writes.
Reports that the Rockets have interest in Danny Granger are inaccurate, according to Stein.
Denver isn't biting on an offer for Timofey Mozgov unless the Nuggets get one that's "crazy good."
The Sixers, open to a shakeup as they wait for Andrew Bynum to make his Philadelphia debut, are shopping Evan Turner.
Samuel Dalembert was on the market even before he did his best to showcase his value with a career-best 35-point game against the Nuggets this week, and he's not the only player Milwaukee might trade. Monta Ellis and Beno Udrih are among the Bucks who could be on the move.
Boston isn't better with Rajon Rondo out for the season, but Stein believes the Celtics' six-game winning streak can be at least partially explained by the team's improved attitude without the moody Rondo around.

Celtics Assign Fab Melo To D-League

February 8th, 2013 at 5:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

We'll keep track of Friday's D-League assignments and recalls here, with the latest updates at the top of the page:

The Celtics are sending rookie center Fab Melo back to the D-League, the team announced via press release. The Syracuse product and 22nd pick in the 2012 draft scored his first two NBA points in just his second game with Boston last night. Now he's headed back to the Maine Red Claws, for whom he's averaged 11.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.6 blocks in 19 games.

Grizzlies Discussed Pursuing Courtney Lee

February 8th, 2013 at 8:40am CST by Luke Adams

After participating in the NBA's first two trades of 2013, the Grizzlies aren't necessarily done dealing, according to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (via Sulia). But Bucher says that the team is now far enough below the luxury-tax threshold that it's open to adding players rather than shedding more salary.

According to Bucher, the Grizzlies discussed the possibility of acquiring Courtney Lee using a traded player exception. The largest of Memphis' seven TPEs is worth about $7.49MM, so Lee's $5MM salary could comfortably fit in that exception with no danger of the team approaching the tax again. However, Bucher adds that the Celtics aren't currently interested in simply shedding salary themselves, and would prefer to add a big man — that's something the Grizzlies likely can't afford to give up, since coach Lionel Hollins has already griped about the team's lack of frontcourt depth.

Given the Grizzlies' aversion to adding big long-term money to their books, the club could end up targeting a perimeter player on a shorter deal than Lee, who is under contract for another three years and $16.35MM after this season.

Celtics Rumors: Garnett, Pierce, Rondo

February 8th, 2013 at 8:15am CST by Luke Adams

In the immediate wake of Rajon Rondo's ACL injury, plenty of fans and pundits questioned whether the Celtics were still a playoff team, speculating that clubs like the Sixers, Pistons, and Raptors could end up challenging for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Since then, the Celtics have won six straight games, not only quieting that talk, but sneaking past the Bucks and into the seventh seed in the East. As the C's enjoy their best stretch of the season on the court, here's the latest off-the-court news out of Boston:

Kevin Garnett reiterated something he's said before, telling reporters, including Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, that he wants to retire as a Celtic. "I don't know what all your sources are, or whoever's making up this [expletive] articles about me getting traded to Denver and all these other places," Garnett said. "But I bleed green, and I will continue to do that. And if it's up to me I'm going to retire a Celtic."
In his weekly appearance on WEEI's Big Show, president Danny Ainge said that keeping Garnett and Paul Pierce was "by far the most likely thing" for the Celtics. "There are so many teams that are trying to get younger," Ainge said. "There are so many teams that are trying to rebuild. There are so many teams that are trying to get higher draft picks already. I just think that where we value them as players is just greater than the rest of the league, which I think is common for players that age."
In a series of tweets, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports provides an update on Rondo's injury status. According to Spears, Rondo spoke to three doctors and will decide as early today which one will perform his surgery. The procedure is expected to happen next Tuesday or Wednesday, and will likely sideline him for six months.