Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Buyouts, Thunder, Williams, Camby

March 16th, 2012 at 11:08pm CST by Chuck Myron

A few teams got a first look at their new acquisitions tonight, while others still await players to arrive and take physicals in their new cities. It's a league that's still in flux less than 36 hours after the trade deadline. Let's take a look at what's going on as everyone gets settled:

Marquis Daniels of the Celtics and Brian Cook of the Wizards are buyout candidates, says agent Mark Bartelstein via Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports. (Twitter link)
The Thunder have assigned forward Ryan Reid to the Tulsa 66ers of the D-League, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, via Twitter. Oklahoma City signed the undrafted 25-year-old forward to a partially guaranteed two-year contract before the season, but he's only appeared in five games so far, scoring a total of eight points in 17 minutes. The 6'8", 232-pound Reid played 48 games with Tulsa last year, averaging 8.5 points and 5.8 rebounds while posting a 14.7 PER.
According to Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld, Nets GM Billy King is confident his team can re-sign Deron Williams this summer, even though the point guard said today he will not opt in to the final season of his deal, a la Dwight Howard.
Marcus Camby, who sees himself playing four more years, wants to finish his career with the Rockets, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Tommy Dee of Sheridan Hoops takes a look at the NBA prospects of Cincinnati's Yancy Gates.
ESPN's Chad Ford believes NCAA tournament hero C.J. McCollum of Lehigh is a "serious draft sleeper" (Twitter link). Ford reported a few weeks ago that scouts had McCollum pegged as a late first-round or early second-round selection (Insider only).
J.A. Adande of ESPN looks at what we've learned from the trade deadline. The most significant takeaway is that it pays to have a Plan B, Adande says.

Odds & Ends: Nene, Celtics, Camby, Kaman, Rubio

March 16th, 2012 at 4:48pm CST by Luke Adams

A few odds and ends from around the league for Friday afternoon:

Explaining yesterday's acquisition of Nene, Wizards president Ernie Grunfield cited the cost certainty of Nene's deal, noting that free agency is a "crap shoot." Michael Lee of the Washington Post has the details.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers told reporters, including Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com, that Chris Johnson, who was waived by the Blazers yesterday, is "an absolute option" for the Celtics.
Shawne Williams' agent hasn't been approached by the Blazers yet about a buyout for his client, though that could change soon, writes Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
After Brendan Haywood sprained his knee in last night's game, the Mavericks will recall Sean Williams from their D-League affiliate, according to a team press release. The Mavs had assigned Williams to Austin earlier this week.
Marcus Camby may be 38 years old and in the final year of his contract, but he's not ready for retirement yet. The Rockets big man tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that he wants to play for four more years (Twitter link).
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel doesn't think David Stern would block the Hornets from buying out Chris Kaman.
Ricky Rubio will undergo reconstructive surgery on his left knee next Wednesday, the team announced today.

O’Neal Resolution Expected Early Next Week

March 16th, 2012 at 12:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics' situation with Jermaine O'Neal should come to a close by early next week, reports A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (via Twitter). O'Neal has been sidelined with a wrist injury, and could decide to undergo season-ending surgery, while a contract buyout also seems possible.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports suggested yesterday that O'Neal had been angling for a buyout and is interested in rejoining the Heat. The injured Celtic took to his Twitter account to seemingly refute that report, tweeting "You can't always believe what you see and hear on tv!"

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said yesterday that he didn't expect to see O'Neal back on the court for Boston this season, referring to the 33-year-old's wrist injury.

Celtics Notes: Ainge, Johnson

March 15th, 2012 at 8:53pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes on the Boston Celtics following the trade deadline:

Celtics president Danny Ainge tells ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg that the team was close to several deals in the minutes leading up to the deadline.
Ainge also says he was thinking both about the present and the future, as he explored trades that would have helped the Celtics make a playoff run as well as accumulate assets for the future.
Ainge says that the Celtics need another big man, and they may explore the buyout market for a solution.
In a separate post, Forsberg wonders whether the Celtics would be interested in Chris Johnson, who was waived by the Blazers earlier today and played briefly for Boston last season.

Rivers Doesn’t Expect O’Neal Back

March 15th, 2012 at 6:56pm CST by Sean Highkin

ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg reports that Celtics coach Doc Rivers does not expect center Jermaine O'Neal to play for the team again this season as he recovers from a wrist injury.

O'Neal's continued absence opens up the possibility of Boston adding another big man through the buyout market, something Rivers hinted at, although he said nothing was imminent.

"Right now there’s no reason to do anything, but if there’s a chance we can get another guy, then we’re going to have make a roster spot," said Rivers, who later added, "There probably will be some [buyout] guys [available]. The buyout follows the trade thing, so then you have to wait and see what you can get. Then we’ll know more."

O'Neal is in the final year of a two-year, $11.9MM contract he signed in the summer of 2010. He is making $6.2MM this season.

Failed Deals: Beasley, Crawford, Allen, Pierce

March 15th, 2012 at 3:31pm CST by Luke Adams

You've read about the trades that were completed prior to the deadline, but there were also plenty of moves that didn't quite work out. Here are a few that have been reported so far:

The Lakers had been in talks to acquire Michael Beasley in a deal that would've sent Jamal Crawford and Derek Fisher to the Timberwolves, with Dallas' first-round pick going to the Blazers, says Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com (on Twitter).
Crawford also could've gone to the Lakers, but the Blazers didn't want to take on Derek Fisher, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Before they acquired Nick Young, the Clippers talked extensively with the Rockets about trading for Courtney Lee, tweets Sam Amick of SI.com.
The Clippers were also "this close" from acquiring Ray Allen, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link).
The Celtics had serious talks with several teams about both Allen and Paul Pierce, but nothing came together, says Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Another interesting tidbit from Amick: He says the Nuggets tried to engage the Kings on Nene/DeMarcus Cousins swap about a month ago, but the Kings weren't interested (Twitter links).
The Bucks made a "strong late push" for the Hornets' Carl Landry, but couldn't work anything out, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
GM Otis Smith told John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com that the Magic explored many deals to bring in help around Dwight Howard, but that the risk/reward factor didn't make sense (Twitter link).

Celtics Stand Pat At Deadline

March 15th, 2012 at 2:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics' Big Three will stay together for at least one more playoff run, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Boston has elected to stand pat at the trade deadline, says Wojnarowski.

Celtics GM Danny Ainge said earlier today that there was a 50/50 chance of the team making a trade. Ray Allen drew significant interest and inquiries on Paul Pierce picked up today, but the Celtics' asking price wasn't met for either player.

For Ainge, the next order of business could be deciding whether to explore a buyout for Jermaine O'Neal.

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Boston Celtics

Trade Rumors: Hinrich, Pierce, Pistons, Crawford

March 15th, 2012 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA's 2:00pm trade deadline is upon us, but teams who are close to deals could still be given a little leeway to finalize things. Here are a few of the latest rumors:

Kirk Hinrich will remain a Hawk through the deadline, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
The Hawks and Bobcats will stand pat, says Steve Kyler of Hoops World (Twitter link).
Interest in Paul Pierce picked up today, but a deal isn't likely because the Celtics' asking price is too high, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.
The Pistons received and made phone calls, but likely won't make a deadline deal, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
Joe Freeman of The Oregonian tweets that the Blazers are still working on a Jamal Crawford trade, but a deal doesn't look likely, says Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter).

Chris Kaman Likely Staying Put

March 15th, 2012 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Chris Kaman will likely remain a Hornet past the trade deadline, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

The Celtics, Heat, and Spurs will aggressively pursue Kaman if the Hornets end up buying out his contract, but that's not a given with the league running the team, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter links).

Jermaine O’Neal Angling For Buyout

March 15th, 2012 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Jermaine O'Neal, currently sidelined with a wrist injury, has been angling for a contract buyout, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. However, the Celtics are still exploring trades that could include O'Neal's expiring contract.

According to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), O'Neal has significant interest in rejoining the Heat. However, the Celtics are unlikely to buy out the big man's contract if they think that's the likely outcome.

GM Danny Ainge said this morning that there's about a 50% chance of the Celtics making a deadline deal. We also heard today that Ray Allen is drawing heavy interest from a number of contending teams.