Danny Ainge and Boston Celtics will not go down quietly at the NBA’s trade deadline.
They rarely do.
While making an appearance on 98.5 the Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich Show, Ainge made it clear he has been, and will continue to be, active ahead of the Feb. 18 trade deadline (via CSNNE.com’s A. Sherrod Blakely):
While Danny Ainge did not speak specifically about Howard and Boston’s level of interest in the former eight-time all-star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, there’s not a team in the NBA that Ainge hasn’t had a conversation with recently.
But does that means he’s close to making a major deal.
Nope.
“Most of the time, ninety-nine percent of the things talked about and discussed, don’t happen,” Ainge said. “This time of year there’s a lot of discussions. It’s really hard to predict if there’s any deals there. Usually they happen at the very end, the very last day.”
This is standard trade-deadline bluster. But while Ainge usually plays things close to the vest, he’s not wrong here—specifically with regard to Boston.
The Celtics swooped in and picked up Isaiah Thomas at the last minute ahead of the 2015 trade deadline, and something similar could happen this time around. Danny Ainge has collected a ton of picks, he has the $15.5 million expiring contract of David Lee to match incoming salary, and the Celtics have a ton of solid core players who will attract the attention of many other teams—none of whom, likely, are untouchable.
Except Jae Crowder.
If the Celtics trade him, even to land a superstar, I will never let them live it down.
