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D-League Moves: Varnado, Scott, Jones, Baynes

March 1st, 2013 at 12:26pm CST by Luke Adams

We'll track today's D-League assignments and recalls here, with any additional moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:

Jarvis Varnado has been sent to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat announced today in a press release. Varnado averaged a double-double in the D-League earlier this season, recording 14.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG, and 3.9 BPG for Sioux Falls.
The Hawks have assigned rookie Mike Scott to the D-League, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Consitution. Scott will join the Bakersfield Jam, who have a home-and-home set against the Los Angeles D-Fenders on Saturday and Sunday this weekend.

Earlier updates:

The Cavaliers have recalled Kevin Jones from the D-League just a day after re-assigning him, the team announced in a press release. Jones led the Canton Charge with 24 points and nine rebounds in last night's game, helping the team defeat the Idaho Stampede, 115-109. The rookie forward will be available for the Cavs tonight against the Clippers.
Aron Baynes also led his D-League team to victory last night during his one-game assignment. The Spurs announced today in a press release that Baynes had been recalled from the Austin Toros after recording 16 points and nine boards in the club's Thursday win.
The Celtics have assigned Fab Melo to the Maine Red Claws, according to a team press release. With D.J. White and Shavlik Randolph expected to be ready to play tonight, the C's didn't need Melo on the bench in Boston.

Celtics Notes: White, Williams, Melo

February 26th, 2013 at 10:44am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics completed their five-game western road trip last night with a big win in Utah, finally finishing off the Jazz in overtime with the help of a great performance from Paul Pierce. The C's head back home now, and will get a few days off before hosting the Warriors in Boston on Friday. In the meantime, here's the latest on potential roster moves for the team, courtesy of Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald:

D.J. White continues to wait on his letter of clearance from China before he can officially sign with the Celtics. GM Danny Ainge expects the paperwork to be complete very soon, but we'll see if the team waits until later in the week to formally add White — Ainge himself notes that 10-day contracts are often stragetically timed to maximize a player's time with the club.
Ainge wouldn't says whether the Celtics plan to sign Terrence Williams to a second 10-day conract when his current deal expires after Friday's game.
Ainge on roster additions and the possibility of committing to Williams or anyone else: "We’re still looking. Things change week by week and we’re still looking. We don’t really have to decide until the day before the playoffs start. There’s a lot of guys who can contribute, but there’s not enough of a difference between them to be able to say, 'He’s the guy.'"
There's a decent chance Fab Melo will be re-assigned to the D-League's Maine Red Claws when the Celtics return home this week. "If he hasn’t fit into the rotation, we’ll get him some minutes in Portland," said Ainge. "He was playing great until his concussion, then he got a thigh bruise, and then he came on this trip. It’s been good for him to be on this trip. He’s putting in a lot of time. It’s just experience."

Celtics To Acquire Jordan Crawford

February 21st, 2013 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

2:16pm: The Wizards will also acquire Jason Collins from the Celtics in the trade, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).

12:46pm: The Wizards have agreed to a deal that will send Jordan Crawford to the Celtics, reports TNT's David Aldridge (via Twitter). Boston will send Leandro Barbosa to the Wizards, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The teams are still working on the details of the trade, but Fab Melo will not be headed to Washington, Aldridge hears (Twitter link). Crawford "desperately" wanted the Wizards to trade him, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, and that's in line with previous reports indicating the swingman was unpleased with his reduced role of late.

The Mavs reportedly jumped into discussions for Crawford as well, but the Celtics seemed to have the inside track as the deadline approached. An Eastern Conference executive told Michael Lee of the Washington Post last night there was likely "very little" the Wizards could get for Crawford, and indeed that appears to be the case, as Washington is getting a player who's out for the year with a torn ACL in his left knee. In taking back Barbosa's expiring deal for the minimum salary, the Wizards essentially clear Crawford's salary, worth $1.2MM this year and $2.6MM next season, off their books. The Wizards had an open roster spot going into the trade, but they could waive Barbosa at any point this season to free up more room if they wish, though they'll have to keep paying Barbosa's salary either way.

Adding Crawford for Barbosa adds a little salary to Boston's books, but still allows them to stay below their $74.307MM hard cap for the season. Following his injury, the C's sought to use Barbosa to increase their flexibility, as they considered waiving him to create room on the roster, or, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe suggested, using him as trade ballast as they're doing with the Wizards. Nonetheless, a one-for-one deal involving Barbosa was unexpected, Washburn tweets.

Crawford is averaging 13.4 points and 3.7 assists this year, similar to the third-year player's career numbers. He's seen his minutes drastically reduced, to 12.4 per game this month from 35.8 in December, with the return of John Wall from injury and the emergence of rookie Bradley Beal. He was used on the ball as the Wizards struggled to find a solution in Wall's absence at point guard this year, so perhaps he could help Boston's current shorthanded situation at the position.

Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors contributed to this post.

Celtics, Mavericks Eyeing Jordan Crawford

February 21st, 2013 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

12:45pm: Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com is hearing that the Mavs aren't heavily involved in the hunt for Crawford (Twitter link). It looks to me as if a deal between the Celtics and Wizards that swaps Melo and Crawford could be the most likely outcome.

12:21pm: The Mavs and Celtics continue to lead the way for Crawford, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter). However, talks may go down to the wire, as the Wizards are "waiting this one out," tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

11:20am: We can add another team to the mix for Crawford. According to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (via Twitter), the Mavericks have also discussed a Crawford deal with the Wizards.

9:37am: The Celtics are looking to add perimeter scoring and are considering Jordan Crawford as a target, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Broussard reports that the Celtics are dangling Fab Melo in trade talks, as we heard yesterday.

For his part, Crawford appears to be unhappy with his role in Washington and would likely welcome a trade. In discussing both Melo and Crawford as trade candidates, I noted that their small salaries may make it difficult for the C's and Wizards, respectively, to find a match. However, since Crawford's $1.2MM salary is a near match for Melo's $1.25MM, it wouldn't be hard to build a deal around the pair.

Celtics Shopping Fab Melo In Trade Talks

February 20th, 2013 at 11:15am CST by Luke Adams

As they survey the trade market in search of backcourt help, the Celtics have made Fab Melo available, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, the Celtics view Melo as a trade chip that would return something of value while allowing the team to hang on to its current rotation players and future draft picks (Twitter links).

Melo, the 22nd overall pick in last June's draft, has seen most of his playing time this season for the D-League's Maine Red Claws, having appeared briefly in just three games for the Celtics. Of the Celtics' 10 remaining healthy bodies (11 once Terrence Williams finalizes his 10-day contract), Melo is the only one that doesn't see at least semi-regular minutes as part of the club's rotation.

In the first year of his rookie contract, Melo is only earning about $1.25MM, so he'd have to be packaged with another player if the Celtics wanted to acquire anyone making much more than the minimum.

Celtics Rumors: Garnett, Bass, Lee, Melo, Bradley

February 19th, 2013 at 10:04am CST by Luke Adams

After ACL surgery ended Rajon Rondo's season, Celtics president Danny Ainge insisted that he wanted to see how his team responded before deciding what sort of roster moves to consider. The Celtics have been on a tear since then, but Jared Sullinger and Leandro Barbosa have also seen their seasons end prematurely due to injuries, leaving the team with a dearth of healthy bodies. While we wait to see wait Ainge and the C's have up their sleeves before Thursday, here are the latest rumblings from out of Boston:

Marc Stein of ESPN.com isn't convinced that Kevin Garnett could be persuaded to waive his no-trade clause, even if it meant joining a team like the Clippers. According to Stein, ESPN.com's Chris Broussard reported last night on SportsCenter that Chauncey Billups believes his friend's position on not waiving his no-trade clause is firm.
Even if Garnett were to agree to a deal, the Clippers aren't willing to include both Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan in their proposal, according to Stein. The ESPN.com scribe cautions that it could be posturing on the Clippers' part, but one source says the Clippers feel like that's too much to give up for a 36-year-old who may not play much longer.
Outside of weighing possible deals involving Garnett and Paul Pierce, the Celtics have also explored possibilities that include Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee, Fab Melo, and Avery Bradley, but have only received lukewarm interest, according to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. I imagine plenty of teams would like to get their hands on Bradley, but perhaps the Celtics' asking price is exorbitant.
One opposing executive on the Celtics, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: "[They] are one of the more active teams out there talking, but they really don’t have a lot of great options. They don’t have a lot to trade."
Bulpett reports that the Clippers have yet to make a formal offer for Garnett. He also adds that Ainge doesn't feel any pressure to do anything more drastic than to add a player or two. "I love how hard our guys play and compete," Ainge said. "They do need some support with some extra bodies for the rest of the year. I definitely need to do that, to add some players to our roster. But that’s all that we need to do."

Doc Rivers Talks Potential Celtics Roster Moves

February 15th, 2013 at 9:53am CST by Luke Adams

Neither Celtics president Danny Ainge nor coach Doc Rivers is shy about talking to the media about their team's roster and potential needs. Earlier this week, Ainge discussed potential roster moves for the C's in the wake of season-ending injuries to multiple key players. This morning, appearing on WEEI in Boston, Rivers did the same, answering a number of questions about the Celtics' roster options. Here are the highlights from Doc, via Jerry Spar of WEEI.com:

On the Celtics' next move:

"Danny and I, we thought about it and we all have been thinking about it since all the injuries. With the last one with [Leandro] Barbosa, now we can't look at one position anymore. That's what we were looking at — looking at size first, then a guard. Now we're looking at players. We need players. We need to pick up a couple of players as soon as we can get them. That's what basically we're doing."

On the timetable for making a move:

"We don't want to do anything so quick that somebody else comes available and then we don't have room because we're at the cap threshold. We have to be very careful in what we do."

On the Celtics' biggest need:

"I would say a ball-handling guard. It's no longer a point guard, it's just a guard. If I had my perfect guard for this group right now, it would be a guard that can play multiple positions and that can shoot, that has some toughness…. And then you need a big. You're not going to find a center, so a four. Obviously a five would be great, but a four that can stretch the floor. Or a four that can rebound, just a great rebounding four that has skills."

On where the C's are looking:

"There's so many places to look. The China league ends in a week. So now some of the American players that are playing over there will begin coming back over to our league. The D-League. And then obviously through a trade. We don't have a lot of assets to trade, so we have to be very careful there."

On possible interest in Delonte West:

"Yeah, that's something we're looking at. I don't know where we're going to go with that. Again, we have to be so careful. One thing I love about Delonte is his toughness. But the other thing you don't like is that he does get injured a lot. So you're worried about that as well, beside the other stuff."

On whether rookie Fab Melo is ready for a larger role with the team:

"I don't think he's ready yet. I can tell you he's really working on it. I just don't think he's ready yet."

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.

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.

Celtics Notes: Pierce, Hunter, Melo, Green

February 2nd, 2013 at 11:16am CST by Sean Highkin

The Boston Celtics have suffered two major setbacks in the past week, as Rajon Rondo's torn ACL and Jared Sullinger's back surgery will keep them both out the remainder of the 2012/13 season. Here are the latest rumors and notes surrounding the team on Saturday morning:

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes that Paul Pierce wants new leadership for the NBPA. After Derek Fisher placed executive director Billy Hunter on indefinite leave on Friday, Pierce told Washburn that the recent NBPA drama indicates that the current administration is not working.
The Celtics have activated Fab Melo, and he should see some playing time in the wake of Sullinger's injury, Washburn writes. Melo has only appeared in one game for the Celtics this season.
GM Danny Ainge told Washburn that the team will fill the two roster spots that formerly belonged to Jarvis Varnado and Kris Joseph before the trade deadline.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes that Jeff Green has stepped up for Boston following their recent injury woes and become a consistent contributor.