It would be presumptive to say that the Boston Celtics called any and every team with an incumbent superstar ahead of the trade deadline in search of a blockbuster move.
But, to the best of our knowledge, it wouldn’t be grossly inaccurate, either.
Celtics president Danny Ainge was active at the deadline. We know this. Nothing came to fruition, but reports have since trickled out in drips and drabs. The latest rumor, courtesy of ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe, confirmed that he did indeed try poaching Kevin Love away from the Cleveland Cavaliers:
If they lose again, I’d bet big on Love being elsewhere — a split that might end up the best thing for everyone. Cleveland and Boston had trade talks for Love at the deadline, though they died with Boston offering a low-ball package the Cavs wouldn’t consider, according to several league sources. Even if Boston’s interest has faded, someone will call Cleveland about Love around the draft. Wiggins has more trade value than Love now, but that deal was the right move at the time.
This scenario will probably be revisited if and when the Cavaliers fail to win a championship. The Celtics remain a solid trade partner, as they have more assets than any other team under the sun and can offer the right mix of picks, prospects and impact players. Even if they don’t employ someone the Cavaliers are directly interested in, those assets are appealing enough to get a third and, potentially, fourth team involved.
But there isn’t much to takeaway from here. The Cavaliers clearly haven’t decided whether to hit reset on a contender, and the Celtics, armed with plenty of trade ammo, tried sussing out home-run upgrades ahead of the trade deadline. That’s what teams do—especially those that are under the care of Danny Ainge.
