Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski brings us up to date on the Celtics and Clippers trade talk:
For now, the Los Angeles Clippers have terminated talks with the Boston Celtics on a Kevin Garnett forEric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan trade, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
The Celtics have been eager to continue the conversation on the deal, but league sources said the talks will remain dormant unless Clippers star Chris Paul pushes the issue with management.
Several prominent executives and coaches with championship contenders told Yahoo! Sports they believe the Clippers would become more dangerous with Garnett.
Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro is a proponent of the deal, too, sources said.
The Celtics won’t consider moving Garnett to the Clippers for any other combination of players, and won’t revisit the talks unless Bledsoe and Jordan are in the package, sources said.
Boston hasn’t approached Garnett to waive his no-trade clause without an agreement in place, but there’s strong belief he would ultimately agree to it. What’s more, Boston could simply trade Paul Pierceand leave Garnett with even less desire to finish his career with a young, rebuilding roster.
I don’t believe the Clippers for one second. This is Negotiating 101. They are simply trying to get Danny Ainge to lower his asking price.
Here’s the real bomb in Woj’s story:
If the Celtics trade Garnett before the deadline, they would move Pierce, too, sources said. For the Celtics, the chance to get Bledsoe and Jordan could be a prelude to trying to package Pierce in a possible deal to the Atlanta Hawks for Josh Smith, sources said.
The Hawks also have discussed sending Pierce onto a third team in some previous conversations around the league. The Nets are trying to make a deal for Smith, too, and have offered Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, and either a future first-round pick or the draft rights to Croatian Bojan Bogdanovic, sources said.
Whoa. Not sure I can process two blockbuster trades that strip this Celtics team of their heart and soul.
Sigh…
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