Celtics guard Terrence Williams was arrested on gun charges. (AP)

Celtics guard Terrence Williams was arrested Sunday for allegedly brandishing a firearm and threatening the mother of his 10-year-old son, according to multiple reports out of Washington.

On Sunday afternoon, during a scheduled visit to see his son in Kent, Wash., Williams and the woman argued in the parking lot of her apartment building, where he exposed the gun and made verbal threats, she told police.

The first-year Celtics guard’s father Edgar Williams and mother Sherry Jackson both spent time in prison, and his father was murdered shortly after his release from jail on drug charges in 1993, according to The New York Times (h/t SI.com).

The C’s signed Williams out of the Chinese Basketball Association to a series of 10-day contracts in February, and then inked him for the remainder of the season in early March. The deal included a non-guaranteed salary for 2013-14, when Williams was expected to compete for backup point guard duties behind Rajon Rondo.

He averaged 7.1 points (49.5 FG%), 1.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 13.3 minutes over 24 games for the Celtics this season. He appeared in five of their six playoff games against the Knicks, averaging 1.0 point, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 9.6 playoff minutes a night.

When Sebastian Telfair was arrested on gun charges soon after the 2006-07 campaign, Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck disowned the former C’s guard — announcing the removal of his nameplate from his Waltham locker in an email to The Boston Globe — and the team included him in the deal for Kevin Garnett that summer.

That shouldn’t get your hopes up for a Kevin Love deal involving Terrence Williams.

Doc Rivers

It’s been two weeks since Celtics coach Doc Rivers delivered his cryptic press conference after the Game 6 loss to the Knicks, when he hinted at the possibility of foregoing the remaining three years on his contract.

Meanwhile, Stephen A. Smith speculated Rivers could join Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in a trade to the Clippers — a notion C’s president Danny Ainge dismissed, assuring Celtics nation: “I think Doc will be coaching the Boston Celtics.”

On Thursday, it appears we can remove the “I think” from that statement. Rivers will be coaching the Boston Celtics, Ainge told The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn.

So, what does that mean for the 2013-14 edition?

For starters, the Celtics will have one of the game’s great coaches on their bench. Rivers is on USA Basketball’s short list for good reason. If Seattle were granted a franchise tomorrow and had its pick of the litter, Rivers, former assistant Tom Thibodeau and Gregg Popovich would likely be the top three choices to lead a team into the future.

Of course, the future is where things get complicated. Rivers suggested that he, Pierce and KG would discuss their plans together soon after the season, but it’s unclear if that meeting has taken place. At the very least, the coach’s return is a sign that both veterans could also be back, since the opposite would have been true had Rivers left.

His return must also be welcome news to Rajon Rondo. Although the two have had their differences since Rondo entered the league in 2006, their minds have essentially melded over the years, and Doc’s departure only would have further complicated his All-Star point guard’s recovering from ACL surgery.

Rivers also commands the respect of high-profile guys like Jason Terry, who came to the Celtics in part because of the coach. “When Doc calls, you listen,” Terry said upon arriving in Boston. The guy takes former players out to dinner when they come to Boston and gives them cookies before they leave town (except Ray Allen, probably). That’s important to note as the C’s attempt to lure name free agents for bargain prices this summer.

Obviously, Rivers isn’t without flaws, but they’ll take a coach whose Achilles heel is favoring veterans (which made the Jordan Crawford over Courtney Lee move against the Knicks so strange). It’ll also be on him to reconstruct an offense that allows Rondo, Jeff Green and others who thrived in the point guard’s absence to coexist.

And it’s not as though Doc hasn’t molded talent, which will be his primary responsibility should Pierce and Garnett not return. Rondo, Tony Allen, Avery Bradley, Glen Davis, Al Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe and Delonte West all developed under Doc’s guidance, and Jared Sullinger seems a likely candidate to join that list.

When discussing Bill Belichick, people always ask: Name a guy who’s gotten markedly better after leaving? The same could be said of Rivers, which is why the first step of this Celtics offseason is a positive one.

Celtics guard Avery Bradley made the NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team — the first such honor of his three-year career. He received 10 first-place and five second-place votes from the NBA’s 30 head coaches, and his 25 total points trailed only Tony Allen (53) and Chris Paul (37) among the league’s guards.

Often dubbed the best on-ball defender in the NBA, Bradley’s 0.73 points allowed per possession ranked 16th in the league, according to Synergy Sports. More importantly, the Celtics allowed 102.1 points per 100 possessions — ranking 14th in the league before Bradley’s Jan. 2 debut — and then posted the NBA’s fifth-best defensive rating (99.4 points per 100 possessions) in the 51 games after his return.

“I want to shut down everybody every single night,” Bradley said after limiting Warriors scoring sensation Stephen Curry back in March. “If you notice, every game I play the same way. Every single game on the defensive end. That’s just my mindset. That’s how I play. That’s how I always play my whole life.”

Forwards LeBron James and Serge Ibaka as well as centers Tyson Chandler and Joakim Noah joined the backourt duo of Allen and Paul on the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Strangely, NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol made the Second Team alongside Bradley, Tim Duncan, Paul George and Mike Conley.

Kevin Garnett didn’t capture a single vote. This marks only the second time since 1999 he didn’t make either the NBA All-Defensive First or Second Team — and the first time in that span he didn’t receive a vote.

If Kevin Garnett walks away from the Celtics following their first-round playoff loss to the Knicks, it’s going to mark the beginning of a long rebuilding era for the team. (AP)

While you miss the scowls, intensity and blocked shots after the whistle, remember that the decline of the Celtics is more complex than the team simply aging. The major problem is the Celtics actually ask Garnett to do more now than they did during the NBA finals run in 2010. Despite his age (37 on May 19) and contract (2 years, $24.3 million), Garnett still is a premier power forward and a critical piece for a team chasing a championship.

“Back in Minnesota, Kevin used to say, ‘I want to live beyond my contract,’ ” new Timberwolves president (and former coach) Flip Saunders told WEEI.com. “That meant whatever he was getting paid, whenever someone would see him in a game or in a practice, he wanted to live up to that contract and then play beyond that.”

Garnett has done exactly that in his six seasons in Boston. His playoff averages (35 minutes, 12.7 points, 13.7 rebounds, his highest playoff average since 2004) against the Knicks also demonstrated that quality basketball remains afloat in his veins. Surrounded by the right players, Garnett still can help Boston contend for a championship. After watching Garnett for 18 seasons, Kevin McHale — who drafted Garnett in Minnesota with the No. 5 pick in 1995 — still is amazed by his former student. Garnett was the first player in 20 years to go directly to the NBA from high school, and McHale recently reminisced about Garnett’s rookie training camp in Minnesota, when the 19-year-old was only a couple of months removed from his senior prom.

“I loved the kid the first day of practice,” McHale said. “He laid on the floor after his first training camp — laying on the ground with nothing left — and I said, ‘We’ve got to go again tonight.’ He went, ‘Huh?’ I said we did two-a-days, and he was like, ‘Oh my.’

“But that night he came and he laid it on the ground, played on the line, laying on the ground, playing on the line. At the end, he was laying on the ground, and I said to him, ‘Now we do two again tomorrow.’ He looked up at me and said, ‘Man, this is going to be a job.’ He hasn’t changed since then, he’s just got better.

“His ability to compete at a high level for such a long time, his love of the game, his competitive nature,” marveled McHale, “it really is fun to watch.”

Competing at a high level for an extended period of time in the National Basketball Association takes a rare talent. It is a skill that is difficult, but far from impossible. The highest standard of excellence has been set by the Spurs, a team with an aging superstar in soon-to-be-Hall-of-Famer Tim Duncan. Far from the best of friends, Garnett and the 37-year-old Duncan share very similar basketball philosophies, a fact not lost on Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

“They can look in the mirror and realize they’re both the same in so many respects as far as how they run their lives in the NBA and how they’ve run their careers,” Popovich said during his last trip to Boston. “They’re both competitive as hell, they both understand the game, they both love being on the court, and neither one of them is really that excited about the hoopla that is all around it, but they’ve also endured by taking care of their bodies and what they do in the summertime to take care of their bodies.”

Popovich also stressed that both Garnett and Duncan, even at an advanced age for an NBA superstar, are the centerpieces for their teams’ success.

“They’re each the base of each team no matter how you slice it: they’re each the heart and soul of their respective teams, and they can both feel very good about the stamp they both made on the league,” Popovich said. “They’re very, very similar.”

The Spurs have kept their core of Duncan-Manu Ginobili-Tony Parker together while adding the necessary ingredients to remain among the league’s elite over the past decade. Outside of briefly entertaining the thought of a Parker-Jason Kidd trade a decade ago, San Antonio remained far more loyal to its trio of superstars than the Celtics. Like any general manager, Danny Ainge has a difficult job, but constant trade rumors have hurt overall loyalty to the team. Ray Allen turned down a far better contract to remain in Boston and instead opted to sign with the Heat, the Celtics’ main rival, for two reasons. One was an opportunity to win another championship, but the second, and more painful, reason is the fact that the Celtics made multiple attempts to trade Allen during his final three seasons in Boston. Allen cannot be blamed for abandoning the Celtics when the organization failed to stay loyal to him. Paul Pierce also has been a constant target of trade rumors, and even Garnett — who holds a no-trade clause — was part of the speculation this past February in what would have been an extraordinary coup for the Clippers.

Both Duncan and Garnett became free agents after the 2012 season. When San Antonio — like the Celtics, an older team with a dynamic point guard — dropped four straight games in the Western Conference finals and ultimately lost in six games last spring to Oklahoma City, there was no talk of blowing up the Spurs and starting over. Yet immediately after the Celtics, who took the eventual NBA champion Heat to the brink of elimination, lost Game 7 in Florida, rumors began swirling that the team would go through an extreme makeover. The media scrutiny admittedly is different in San Antonio than it is in Boston, but the Celtics’ perceived willingness to move their top players is a far different M.O. than the tight-lipped philosophy in San Antonio. Loose lips sink ships, or, in this case, lead to crashes. San Antonio last won a title in 2007, a year before the Celtics hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy, but the Spurs continue to supply Duncan with able-bodied bigs like Tiago Splitter, Boris Diaw, DeJuan Blair and Matt Bonner. The Celtics, on the other hand, brought in two players, Shavlik Randolph and D.J. White, from the Chinese Basketball Association to protect Garnett. Duncan actually missed key stretches of the Spurs’ Game 1 win over Golden State with flu-like symptoms, whereas a serious lack of depth causes the Celtics to crumble when KG is not on the floor.

The idea of starting over, sans Garnett, currently is en vogue after a plane crash of a series against the Knicks in the opening round of the playoffs. The Celtics are fully aware of the challenges of rebuilding. However, most teams are unable to move aging stars for anything but cap space, so unless a team brings in elite players, there simply is no way to rebuild quickly in the NBA. This current Celtics crash — which included dropping the first three games against New York and playing more like the 2007 lottery incarnation during the majority of the embarrassing Game 6 loss at the Garden — actually began in 2010. Planes, like NBA teams, rarely crash because of one major error. The standard accident customarily involves seven consecutive errors. Unfortunately for the Celtics, their fall to mediocrity also included seven costly mistakes. Individually, none were too costly. When added together, these errors from a lethal cocktail. The primary error was failing to surround Garnett with the necessary pieces to be at his best, but others included the costly free agent signings of Rasheed Wallace and Jason Terry, a lack of loyalty to Ray Allen, the devastating decision to let Tony Allen walk, failing to provide complements through trades and the draft, and asking Garnett to produce more each season as he aged. The last potential mistake is the misconception that it is time to part with Garnett and start anew in Boston. This wouldn’t mark the first time a team misjudged Garnett.

“When McHale and I went to watch Kevin work out in Chicago, all the players in the lottery were invited,” Saunders said of the 1995 pre-draft workout. “We went there with the idea that the top four guys were the ones coming out from college: Joe Smith, Antonio McDyess, Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace. We probably had more of a need for a guard, so we thought we might take Stackhouse. Our idea was to watch Garnett work out and make a big deal out of this high school kid. We were hoping the other lottery teams would become intrigued by him, so then someone would take him and one of those other college players would fall to us.”

That plan changed, of course, the moment the Minnesota brass laid eyes on Garnett.

“Well, we went there, and after about five minutes Kevin McHale and I looked at each and said, ‘This is our guy.’ His workout was off the chart, but when you watched him — when you really stood back and watched him work out — the way he moved offensively and defensively, if you didn’t know, you would have thought he was a 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-4 guard.”

Saunders also touched on Garnett’s appreciation for the game. Garnett’s mother, Shirley, taught her son the importance of hard work and respect. For a time, Shirley Garnett drove a forklift in a factory before becoming a hairdresser and opening her own beauty salon. As with many parents, the original plan for her son did not pan out. Mrs. Garnett wanted Kevin to go to college and become a social worker. He chose a different path, but the lessons she taught her son about the value of working hard evolved into a trait that still carries over to Garnett’s play. An NBA superstar who shares the basketball, sets screens, rebounds and prides himself on his defense is almost as rare as the Loch Ness Monster.

“He has great respect for the game and he’s carried that through his whole career,” said Saunders, who coached Garnett for 10 seasons in Minnesota and served as a coaching consultant with the Celtics during the home stretch of the 2012 season. “The respect that he has for the players who played before him is really special. Bill Russell, for instance, is always ‘Mr. Russell,’ and he knows he’s able to do what he does for a living because of what the past players were able to do. His professionalism sets the tone for his teams.

“He’s a very unique player and the most competitive guy I’ve ever been around. His game preparation starts at the time he wakes up in the morning. Everything he does is built to prepare so he’ll have success when he walks out on the court. He has a very, very high basketball IQ, the highest I’ve ever been around. There were times when we were looking at scouting reports, and Kevin would reference a game from six years prior where we used a strategy that was really effective in stopping an opponent. When you look at everything he can do, guarding ones, twos, threes, fours and fives, the way he rebounds, the way he can score, his assists, he’s the only guy in the NBA’s history to average 20-10-5 four years in a row, and he’s still always trying to get better. He’s trying to pass that along to his teammates for the success of his team, too.”

Garnett is six points away from passing Reggie Miller for 14th in all-time points scored. He is 10th on the list of most rebounds and 18th for most blocks. Even after playing in a total of 1,454 games, he remains the lynchpin for the Boston Celtics. The entire organization will become a lot more ordinary with the loss of KG. Instead of the C’s trading him or allowing him to retire, a better team needs to be built around him. Garnett’s basketball ideology and skill set, unlike most of the players in the league, are irreplaceable. He’s even more intense in practices than he is in games, and does not have an agenda when goes out to the court to play. The man simply understands how to play the game the right way. If there is an open teammate, he finds that jersey. If he is supposed to make a play, he makes that play. As Garnett ages, he needs the Celtics to do their job and place the proper support around him. Yes, Garnett’s body is beginning to betray him, something the soon-to-be 37-year-old power forward has in common with every big man to ever play the game of basketball. Pierce, after turning over the ball 32 times in six games against the Knicks, clearly is not the same the player who jumped out of a wheelchair to dominate the Lakers in the 2008 finals. Yet both men still are commodities in a league that specializes in exactly that: commodities. The problem, again, lies in the pieces that surround their Hall of Fame talents.

Similar to his final years in Minnesota, Garnett is surrounded by a diminishing crop of talent each year. Just like the case with those Wolves teams, the burden to lead the Celtics to prominence is unrealistic. Boston proved in 2008 (and, if it weren’t for the final six minutes during Game 7 in Los Angeles, the same would be said for 2010) that championship basketball is played with transcendent superstars who must be surrounded by upper-echelon teammates. A team needs its trio of stars, as well as a high-quality supporting cast. The Celtics went the opposite direction during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, but especially so during the 2012-13 campaign. Highly touted draft pick Jared Sullinger lived up to his reputation of talented but injury prone after he was unable to play the final four months of the season because of back surgery. Chris Wilcox fell out of the team’s rotation, and Brandon Bass’ inconsistency harkens memories of Ed Pinckney. This comes after the C’s appeared to find a good fit in Greg Stiemsma in 2011-12. The C’s stockpiled guards (but still failed to field a quality point guard come playoff time; Terrence Williams, another Chinese Basketball Association import, delivered weak numbers at the point in the Game 6 loss to the Knicks: zero points, one turnover and a team-worst minus-15 in a dozen minutes) yet failed to produce any true reinforcements for the greatest all-around power forward in the history of pro basketball.

A major chink in the Celtics’ armor occurred after the 2010 playoffs concluded when the team did not re-sign defensive menace Tony Allen. For those who followed Allen’s progress during his formative NBA years in Boston, his development into one of the league’s elite defenders in Memphis has been difficult to stomach. Even though he barely got off the bench in the Game 7 loss to the Lakers (he played only 5:20), Allen’s proven defensive energy and scoring ability necessitated he be part of the team’s future.

Nate Robinson was another piece on that 2010. Robinson recently was spotted dropping 23 points in a single quarter against the Nets and scoring 27 points in Chicago’s Game 1 victory in Miami over LeBron James’ Heat. Along with Glen Davis, Robinson demonstrated he was precisely the type of scorer the Celtics needed off the bench when he helped the Celtics defeat the Lakers in Game 5 of the 2010 finals (12 points, 2 assists in 16 minutes). Robinson and Doc Rivers may never share the same philosophy on the sport Dr. Naismith created, but former Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau is getting the most out of Robinson. The Bulls lost Derrick Rose, their franchise point guard, but addressed his absence with the combination of Robinson, Kirk Hinrich and Marquis Teague. The loss of Rajon Rondo and Leandro Barbosa never was adequately addressed by the Celtics, nor was the team ever able to replace the production of Ray Allen. Jason Terry did not produce as expected (Terry’s first season in Boston was a failure on the court, as he delivered the lowest averages in points and assists since his rookie season in 2000), and Courtney Lee struggled through an inconsistent season that is on par with his career. The Celtics simply never addressed major concerns at center. The biggest problem with the Jeff Green-Kendrick Perkins deal was dismissing the protection and support Perkins provided Garnett in defending the paint. When asked recently what makes Garnett such so tough, Perkins just laughed.

“Everything,” Perkins said. “He can stretch the floor, think the game. KG’s still in great shape, man. You say he’s older, but his turnaround is difficult to stop. You can’t say nothing but future Hall of Famer.”

Perkins’ teammate, Kevin Durant, agreed with the assessment on Garnett.

“He’s so long and athletic, he can just shoot over the top,” Durant said. “Sometimes you get your hand up, but it’s just not enough.”

LaMarcus Aldridge, the 27-year-old All Star power forward for the Blazers, conceded that even if Garnett is nearly 10 years his senior, KG still is extremely difficult to defend.

“He’s going to come out real hard, so you need to try to match his intensity,” Aldridge said. “You just try to contain him as much as you can out there.”

The league-wide respect for Garnett is at an all-time high. Opponents begrudgingly admit he still is a force, as well as recognize the fact that he is the rare NBA superstar who is willing to do all the blue-collar work on the floor.

“He just plays every minute,” Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said. “He’s going to compete the whole time he’s on the court, and he is one of the few guys who is a star that does the little things for his team. Helping to set screens, whatever it takes, he’s going to do that and he’s been that way since he’s been in the league. I don’t think he cares how many points he scores, all that matters to him is if he wins.”

And this is the type of player the Celtics can afford to let go?

Just in case the point needs further reinforcement, Doug Collins also shared some wisdom on the kid from Chicago’s Farragut Academy.

“I remember when I was in Detroit, Kevin was coming out of high school,” Collins recalled. “Not a lot of people were allowed to watch him work out, but I happened to know his agent and got an interview with him at a hotel. I walked in the hotel and met with him, and the guy knew more about me than I knew about myself. I knew right then this was a young guy who had an incredible respect for the game and was going to be an incredible player. He’s become a terrific leader. I don’t know if there’s anybody in the NBA who loves to play more than he does, or loves to compete more than he does.”

Whatever it takes, through hell or heartbreak, Boston needs to put on another full-court press to keep Garnett active in a Celtics uniform. Garnett mentioned that Paul Pierce was a big part of his decision to come to Boston in the first place, and the two have complete trust in one another on the court. Despite Pierce’s contract, and even in the wake of his disastrous 4-of-18 shooting performance in the final game against the Knicks, he and Garnett still provide this team with a legitimate championship foundation. The bottom line remains that the team needs to somehow find a way to surround them with a better supporting cast. Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap may seem like pipe dreams, but Ainge put together an extraordinary offseason when he brought in Garnett, Ray Allen and James Posey in the summer of 2007. Ainge once demonstrated the ability to draft remarkably well; he put the team in position to succeed with picks like Tony Allen (drafted at No. 25 in 2004), Delonte West (24 in 2004) and Jefferson (15 in 2004), while engineering draft-day moves for Rondo and Perkins. Yet the Celtics, who also pulled off draft-day trades for second-rounders Leon Powe (2006) and Glen Davis (2007), have little to show for recent drafts (J.R. Giddens and JaJuan Johnson are two notable busts). A failure to find reinforcements in the draft is another critical factor in the team’s decline. So, whether it is accomplished through a trade (Jeff Green holds value and could be moved for a premier big man) or free agency, the Celtics need to bring in better players around Garnett. With assistant general manager Ryan McDonough accepting the GM position in Phoenix, it is worth speculating whether the Celtics and Suns could be trade partners (a trade of Green for Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley, in case you were wondering, does fit salary cap parameters for both teams).

Kevin Garnett has played over 55,000 minutes in his career, Paul Pierce over 45,000 and Jason Terry nearly 40,000, and Rajon Rondo is recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that has forced other point guards (Derrick Rose, Ricky Rubio) to rehabilitate for over a year before resuming play. The crowd can lift those players, but they do not have the lift in their legs they once did. The Celtics need to move Green and Terry to create room to sign some legitimate post players. If not, the consequences of letting Garnett leave will be disastrous. The team’s once incredibly efficient offense is a thing of the past. In the 2008 championship season, the Celtics averaged over 100 points per game and, shooting the fewest shots in the NBA, they ranked fourth in field goal percentage and fifth in 3-point percentage, got to the free throw line, forced turnovers and had a killer defense. The team needs to find a new way to win, but Garnett must remain an important part of the mix in order to succeed.

“His enthusiasm for the game is infectious,” Saunders said. “He’ll do whatever he can on the court to gain an advantage, whether it’s physically or mentally. He’s always been a guy who talked a lot on the court. He’s not afraid to challenge his own players, and he demands players play up to his level on a daily basis. He is the greatest all-around power forward ever. It’s very rare to find a player like that.”

Here’s hoping the Celtics find a way to keep him.

Danny Ainge (AP)

On his final weekly appearance on Salk & Holley of the 2012-13 NBA season, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge called the recent Stephen A. Smith rumors “silly,” indicated Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett will return next season, reaffirmed Rajon Rondo should be back for training camp and called Paul Pierce‘s future the first tough decision of his summer.

On Pierce: “There’s a lot that will go into it, but it hasn’t even started yet. We have until June 30 to make any decision. Listen, Paul’s been one of the greatest Celtics of all-time, and that will play a part in it. We love what he’s done for us, but ultimately we have to do what we think is the best for us from this point forward. And I think that Paul still has a lot of basketball left in him.”

On Rivers: “”Doc is always unsure. Coaching is very, very draining. Every year with Doc, he’s had to go home and sort of recharge and ask himself that question, ‘Is this something that I’m passionate about and want to continue doing?’ I understand that. And we sort of give him time to unwind and relax, and after a couple of 92′s on the golf course, he usually comes back.

“I think Doc will be coaching the Boston Celtics.”

On Garnett: “I’ll touch base with KG probably some time next week. He puts so much into the game. He invests as much as any player I’ve ever seen. He just needs time to chill and contemplate his life, and then we’ll talk at some future time, but I do anticipate that KG will play. Just like I did last year, I feel the same this year. I don’t know for sure, but we’ll know more in the next couple weeks.”

On Rondo: “So far, he looks good. Him and [Leandro] Barbosa have both been rehabbing and both have looked good from their ACL [injuries]. From everything our medical staff has told us, Rondo is doing great, and he should be ready by training camp.”

The Barbosa mention seemed strange, considering the C’s dealt him to the Wizards in the Jordan Crawford deal. Ainge said not to read too much into the veteran rehabbing in Boston (but still …). Here are more highlights from the fantastic interview by Salk & Holley — a must listen for anyone looking for a summer Celtics primer:

Ainge on @weei: Stephen A. Smith rumors “are silly. Those are a waste of time to even acknowledge.”

— Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) May 9, 2013

Ainge on Stephen A.’s rumored Doc feud: “I think I have the best coach in the NBA, and I’m not the least bit tired of hearing his voice.” — Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) May 9, 2013

Ainge: “We’re more than 1 player away unless it’s a great player. It’ll be tough to become a championship team from where we are.” Ouch. — Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) May 9, 2013

Danny Ainge (AP)

Not even a week after their season ended with a wondrous failed comeback against the Knicks, the Celtics have already entered full-blown offseason mode. They’ve since lost wunderkind assistant general manager Ryan McDonough to the Suns, and the ridiculous rumor mill is churning like never before.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers stated the obvious after the Game 6 loss on Friday night when he explained team president Danny Ainge “has already worked on stuff.” Here’s the “stuff” facing Ainge over the next few months.

Step 1: What to do with Paul Pierce?

A decision on one of four options for Pierce must be made by July 1:

• 1) Trade him for a bad contract and young talent.
• 2) Waive him for a $5 million cap hit in 2013-14.
• 3) Amnesty him to clear his salary from the cap.
• 4) Bring him back for $15.3 million next season.

The trade market for Pierce was set at Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks and a late first-round pick at the February deadline, so Ainge shouldn’t get his hopes up for a deal of much value. Unless they can pull off a sign-and-trade for someone like Josh Smith, the market won’t improve for Pierce after his postseason performance.

Likewise, Ainge recently admitted, “You’re not going to find Paul Pierces and Kevin Garnetts on the free agent market,” so why take a $5 million cap hit and pay a downgraded free agent when they could just keep Pierce for another season? And given Pierce’s value to the franchise, amnestying one of the five greatest Celtics in history would be a PR nightmare for ownership. So, Pierce staying put seems to be the most likely scenario.

Step 2: Convince Kevin Garnett not to retire.

The added bonus of bringing back Pierce is that Garnett and Rivers would almost certainly follow suit, giving the Celtics a better center and coach than anything they could find on the open market. If Pierce goes, KG suggested he’d be on his not-so-merry way, too. How he goes would be an entirely different matter.

Garnett would then have two legitimate options: 1) waive his no-trade clause, allowing Ainge to first and foremost resume talks with the Clippers over a potential deal for Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan; or 2) file for retirement with the league, foregoing $24.4 million over the next two seasons and giving the Celtics some cap wiggle room.

Step 3: Explore the trade market for everyone else.

After having a ton of cap space last summer, the Celtics have none this offseason should Pierce and Garnett return. They locked up Jeff Green, Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee and Jason Terry for considerable money over at least the next two seasons. Given the youth of the first three and the fact Terry finally, if only briefly, fulfilled his playoff promise, each has some worth. As do Rajon Rondo, Jared Sullinger and Avery Bradley, although the value of each might be at an all-time low given injuries to the first two and Bradley’s playoff struggles.

Anyhow, the Celtics will be in every major trade discussion this summer. Ainge always is.

Step 4: Nail the draft.

Ainge has had some success in the late first round (Bradley in 2010 and Sullinger in 2012) and some failures (J.R. Giddens in 2008 and JaJuan Johnson in 2011), and while the Celtics own the No. 16 pick on June 27 — the highest such selection of the KG era — this year’s draft class is a weak one.

Various mock drafts have the C’s taking wiry Syracuse point guard and Massachusetts native Michael Carter-Williams, Kentucky guard Archie Goodwin, Croatian forward Dario Saric, Louisville center Gorgui Dieng, Gonzaga center Kelly Olynyk or French center Rudy Gobert. Carter-Williams and Dieng both fill a need — the former as a top-10 talent behind Rondo and the latter as a 23-year-old big capable of contributing defensively.

Step 5: Target someone for the mid-level exception.

Should Pierce and Garnett return, the Celtics have $72.9 million committed to 11 players in 2013-14: Pierce ($15.3 million), Garnett ($12.4M), Rondo ($12.0M), Green ($9.0M), Bass ($6.5M), Lee ($5.2M), Terry ($5.2M), Bradley ($2.5M), Jordan Crawford ($2.2M), Sullinger ($1.4M) and Fab Melo ($1.3M).

As currently constituted, they’re hovering above the luxury tax ($70.3 million) but below the $4 million apron, so money-saving trades of guys like Crawford or Melo potentially pave the way for use of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.15 million) and/or the bi-annual exception ($2.65 million). Obviously, frontcourt help and backup point guard are Ainge’s top priorities as soon as the clock strikes midnight on June 30, and Kendrick Perkins is a likely target should the Thunder amnesty the $17.6 million remaining on his deal after this season.

Step 6: Determine the futures of their league minimum guys.

Chris Wilcox has probably played his final game in a Celtics uniform. The 30-year-old veteran played all of seven minutes and failed to score a point in the playoffs when they desperately needed a warm body off the bench.

That leaves Terrence Williams, Shavlik Randolph and D.J. White, all of whom are signed to non-guaranteed deals next season. Ainge doesn’t have to make a decision on any of them until training camp, when Williams and Randolph should at least compete for roster spots if someone better doesn’t come down the Pike.

In summation, all Ainge has to do this summer is determine the future of the face of his franchise as well as one of the game’s all-time greats, explore every trade possible, find a steal in a weak draft and convince a bunch of free agents to accept less money to play for a team that’s championship window appears to be shut. Easy enough.

Stephen A. Smith

Stephen A. Smith talked with Dennis & Callahan on Wednesday about trade rumors involving the Celtics and Clippers, and what he believes the Celtics will do in the offseason.

Smith said he thinks the Clippers, who were rumored to be interested in Kevin Garnett at the trade deadline, still would like to acquire Garnett, and that the Celtics might try to use that interest to get Blake Griffin from them. To get Griffin, though, Smith said they might have to allow Doc Rivers to go to Los Angeles.

“The Clippers, I know for a fact, were interested in Kevin Garnett,” Smith said. “[Chris Paul] isn’t necessarily happy right now. He wants to stay with the Clippers. I think he’s planning on staying with the Clippers because they can offer him close to $30 million more than anybody else. But he also looks at the Clippers and has reached the conclusion that he needs help on the front line, because neither Blake Griffin nor DeAndre Jordan has the requisite post-game skills to really make room for him to operate. They’re incapable of pulling guys away from the basket and being a threat on the perimeter and therefore giving Chris Paul space to operate.

“From that standpoint, once again, the Clippers have to be willing to let go of one of those guys. They would prefer it to be DeAndre Jordan, because clearly Blake Griffin has a better upside. Plus, he’s a better player. … As a result, in an effort to keep CP3, who’s a guy that approaches free agency and they’re looking to re-sign, they are entertaining a plethora of possibilities.”

One of those possibilities, Smith said, could involve Rivers heading to Los Angeles along with Garnett and Paul Pierce.

“According to guys that I’ve spoken to in NBA circles, the Boston Celtics would look at a guy like a KG, willing to unload him, and who knows, they may be willing to market [Garnett and Pierce] as a package deal,” Smith said. “If you’re the Clippers, obviously that’s not enough to let go of somebody like a Blake Griffin. But if you combine keeping CP3 as a priority, knowing that he wants legitimate help on his front line for the immediate future, combined with the fact that even though I believe Vinny del Negro has done a good job, there are others that don’t believe so. … If somehow, some way, you could get your hands on Doc Rivers in the same breath as you’re getting KG and Paul Pierce, it could be something that could be attractive. And if that’s attractive enough, if you’re Danny Ainge, and you and Doc Rivers, as much as you respect one another, you’ve just worked with one another for a long time — who knows what the situation is, but you might be willing to let Doc Rivers out of his contract.

“You’re not going to do it for Brooklyn or probably anybody within the Eastern Conference, but to move out west to Cali? That might be an attractive enough proposition for the Clippers to sit there and say, well, you know what, OK, we would let go of Blake Griffin under those circumstances.”

Following are more highlights from the conversation. To hear the full interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page. For more Celtics coverage, go to weei.com/celtics.

On the credibility of the rumor and Rivers’ relationship with Ainge: “First of all, I don’t quote or attribute anything to people that lack credibility. … What I would say to you about Doc Rivers is that Doc Rivers is under contract with the Boston Celtics. The Boston Celtics absolutely love and respect Doc Rivers. But there have been some questions in NBA circles as to whether or not Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers desire to continue to coexist. They have profound respect with one another, there’s no animosity involved or anything like that, it’s just when you’re working with somebody every day you do tend to get tired of looking at their faces or hearing their voices or things of that nature. There’s nothing going on — you do reach a point, however, where you would like to embrace new challenges, where you’re thinking about moving forward.

“Doc Rivers has a tremendous amount of love and loyalty to those players he’s been coaching, and that takes precedence, no doubt. But in the event that the Boston Celtics are looking to move forward with a different set of players, who’s to say that Doc Rivers would want to stick around to coach new guys. … I haven’t spoken to Doc Rivers about that yet, but at the same time, people who know about Doc Rivers and people who know Danny Ainge have suspected that this is a possibility.”

On how the Clippers’ fan base would react to such a trade: “I don’t believe that it would sit that well because Blake Griffin is a human highlight film. You know that you’re losing something. Plus, he’s useful, and that’s why I’m saying it would be a hard thing to happen, because people are saying, what the hell are you doing, KG is 37 and he’s in the twilight of his career. The same thing could legitimately be said for Paul Pierce, who just completed his 15th NBA season, but that’s why the Doc Rivers component is so attractive, because you know that CP3 is a franchise-caliber player and you know that Doc Rivers has a championship pedigree as a coach.

“The combination of those two dudes being long term could give you the impression that it could be offset with their presence and their arrival. Now, again, that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. If you’re the LA Clippers, you hold on to Blake Griffin for dear life and you try to get them to take DeAndre Jordan. You can also make the argument that if you’re the Boston Celtics, what else are you going to get for KG and Paul Pierce?”

On what he thinks the Celtics will do: “I think more realistic is you breaking [the team] up, because you can get assets for them, unless you want to go in complete rebuilding mode, meaning, Paul Pierce, you buy him out, KG, you let him retire. Or you can look at it as, these guys are viable assets that can assist in getting valuable assets.

“Me personally, I don’t even think the Clippers are that stupid to let go of Blake Griffin. I think they’d work diligently to try and get you take a DeAndre Jordan first. But at the same time, this is Danny Ainge we’re talking about here. He always asks for the house. He ain’t looking to rent. He’s looking to pull off a complete heist if he’s capable of doing so. This is what they’re saying. You can’t put anything past Danny Ainge in what he asks for and you can’t put anything past the Clippers with what they’re be willing to do to keep CP3. … They consider him the franchise.”

On Derrick Rose: “I think the Chicago Bulls have told everybody he’s been cleared to practice, which I think was wrong on their part, by the way. Derrick Rose is a bit reluctant, but I also think that if you’re if you’re the Bulls, the mentality of players is, you’ve got to be fair to him. This is a guy that played with back spasms and turf toe and plantar fascia and all that stuff last year. He played through all of that trying to help us compete for a championship. We can’t fault him now when he’s not sure he can go. He went through this with us last year and look what it cost him. It cost him this entire season because he tore his ACL.

“What I ask everybody to remind themselves of is the fact that his brother is the one who instigated all of this by saying, why should he come back? The only reason why this story has just ballooned is because his brother sat there and took the liberty of saying, why should my brother want to come play with this team, because this team is not going to do anything, and this team has done the opposite. They’ve overachieved. The nation is watching, and now it’s looking at Derrick Rose because his brother opened his mouth.”

Ryan McDonough

The Suns announced Tuesday that they have hired Celtics assistant general manager Ryan McDonough to be their new GM.

“Ryan distinguished himself among an impressive group of candidates for our GM position,” Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby said in a statement. “His natural leadership and communication skills will serve the Suns well. And, his prodigious work ethic and ability to identify talent will enable us to take full advantage of the 10 draft choices, including six in the first round, that we have over the next three years. We welcome his championship pedigree to our organization.”

McDonough, 33, became Boston’s assistant GM in September 2010, after spending two seasons as the team’s director of player personnel, one season as the director of international scouting, one season as director of amateur scouting and four years as a special assistant to basketball operations.

McDonough, who grew up in Hingham, is the son of the late longtime Boston Globe columnist Will McDonough and the brother of ESPN announcer Sean McDonough and former NFL director of player personnel Terry McDonough. He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2002 with a degree in journalism and mass communications.

McDonough was profiled in a recent SB Nation feature by Paul Flannery and was described as “part of a new breed of talent evaluators who have been making inroads into the highest level of the NBA in recent years.”

Said prescient Celtics coach Doc Rivers in the story: “He’s very good at what he does. He’ll be a GM. There’s no doubt about that.”

Bruce Bowen

ESPN NBA analyst Bruce Bowen joined Dennis & Callahan on Tuesday morning to talk about the playoffs and speculation about a possible megadeal between the Celtics and Clippers.

On ESPN’s “First Take” Monday, Stephen A. Smith suggested that the Celtics and Clippers might talk about a deal that would send Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Los Angeles for Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Eric Bledsoe and Caron Butler. Smith also indicated that Doc Rivers might follow Garnett and Pierce to LA and become coach of the Clippers.

Bowen laughed at the prospects of such a deal, saying: “I find it hilarious sometimes.”

Added Bowen: “That’s difficult to see, the LA Clippers giving up Blake Griffin, No. 1. And No. 2, they want to build around that ball club, and that’s Chris Paul and him and DeAndre Jordan, I believe. So, that one there, that’s a little hard to fathom.”

The Clippers rumor aside, there continue to be reports that Pierce and Garnett might have played their final game as Celtics. While both are under contract, they could retire or the team could package either or both in an attempt to acquire younger talent.

Bowen said he would prefer that the team keep its stars and add complementary players rather than blow it all up and start over.

“You’ve got to continue to put pieces along the side of your core. … You just keep adding pieces to it,” Bowen said. “That allows you to keep that standard that you have. And in the process, you hope to find a diamond in the rough that will be able to replace one of the key components.

“Unfortunately, we saw the huge loss of Rajon Rondo this year. And trust me, I believe that if he’s there, they beat the Knicks in that series. But it didn’t happen. You look at the bench. Boston went through a plethora of injuries this year. So, you really try to find guys that can fit into some of those roles as far as coming in, adding to what Paul was doing, adding to what KG was doing. When you have that, that’s where you’re able to make the best moves and the best decisions.”

Added Bowen: “When you start breaking up teams it’s an immediate rebuild. But I think there’s a way of rebuilding where you’re still competitive, where you’re still able to put a great product on the floor. And that’s what it boils down to right now, is bringing out a great product. What are we going to be able to do. Can we put out something that is nice out there, where our fans can be proud of. Even if we’re not winning like we used to, especially in Boston, they just want to see somebody playing hard and giving their best effort. If you can have something like that that is competitive, that’s the way you continue to — and from the business side, keep the fans in the seats and continue to keep the support of the white and green.”

The Bulls shocked the Heat in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Monday night, scoring the game’s final 10 points for a 93-86 upset.

“What you saw is a lack of rhythm with a team,” Bowen said, referring to Miami’s eight-day layoff between games. “And that happens when you don’t — they were off for quite some time. And it’s not making an excuse for them. But this is where in practice, you really have to have that fine type of focus where, even though we don’t know who we’re playing we’ve got to pay attention to what we do. Because that’s what it was all about. It wasn’t necessarily what Chicago did in the first half or even the first three quarters. Other than giving up 30 points in that fourth quarter — that’s not like the Heat. We understand that was an anomaly, because they were trying to gain back everything that they had lost in that particular moment.

“So, for me, it was more of the fact that running the crispness of their offense — there were a lot of mistakes in that offense in the first half. I’m in Miami right now, so as I was watching the game I’m saying to myself, they’re out of sync right now, they’re lacking their rhythm. Usually you turn that into instant offense by getting after it on the defensive end. We didn’t see that swarming style of defense from the Miami Heat. What we saw was a lot of complaining to the officials, LeBron [James] in the first half he was pouting a lot. That’s not what you’re accustomed to seeing with the Miami Heat.”

The Bulls continue to succeed while playing shorthanded. The most notable absence is Derrick Rose, who has been medically cleared but has been hesitant to test his surgically repaired knee in game action. Bowen predicted that Rose would come back “just as good” as when he left, but it won’t be for a while.

“I’m saying the beginning of next year,” Bowen said. “I think he wants to be able to go through training camp, go through preseason.”

In the other Eastern Conference semifinal series, the Pacers take a 1-0 lead into Tuesday night’s Game 2 against the Knicks.

“When the Knicks start playing one-on-one basketball, isolation-type style, you don’t put any pressure on the defense that way,” Bowen said. “So, I look for New York to make an adjustment this game coming up, as far as ball movement. And then getting back to their defensive ways. … When they start worrying about their offense first, it just leads to pathetic defense at times. So, they really need to get back on the defense side, get their energy going on that side, that’s what creates the offensive flow.”

To hear the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page. For more Celtics news, visit the team page at weei.com/celtics.