According to league execs, there is no trigger waiting to be pulled that will turn the Celts’ assets into a veteran star, but the talks begun in the past will continue. It’s important to note that when the C’s made the Allen deal in ’07, they had no assurance they would get Garnett, so Ainge, although he insists the Ray Allen move would have been good with or without KG, was making a reach. In fact, the No. 5 pick had been an important part of the Celts’ negotiations with the Timberwolves.
Now Ainge is in a resembling position. The Celtics are far better off than they were coming off a 24-58 season in 2006-07, but, as with Pierce then, they have a leading scorer in need of stars to fill out a constellation. And it would be nice if they could do it before Isaiah Thomas becomes a grandfather.
So no doubt the Celtics are searching the NBA galaxy for a deal — and that’s in addition to the efforts they’ll be making in free agency in a couple of weeks. In the trade department, Jimmy Butler is still an attractive name, but with Paul George letting the Pacers know he’ll opt out next summer and leave, most likely for the Lakers, the C’s might want to take a stronger flyer on bringing him to Boston with the hope that a year in the system can make him want to stay.
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celt ... tics_trade