OAKLAND — With no deadline deals to be had, the Celtics will now turn their attention to the veteran free agent market in their quest to fill the big-man void left by Chris Wilcox who will have heart surgery on March 29. The Celtics will have to clear a roster spot to add a player as they are at the 15-man roster limit. A prime candidate for a buyout is center Jermaine O’Neal who has not played since the All-Star break.

The deadline for players to be waived and be eligible for the postseason on another team’s roster is Mach 23rd.

If the Celtics are able to make room, they will surely have their eyes on Hornets center Chris Kaman who is in the final year of his contract worth $14 million. New Orleans wasn’t able to make a deal for Kaman at the deadline and under normal circumstances, he’d also be a likely buyout candidate. However, the Hornets are owned by the NBA and that might complicate matters. Would the league sign off on a buyout knowing that Kaman will be in high demand for teams that are trying to win a championship?

They will have competition. Yahoo! reported that San Antonio and Miami would also be interested in Kaman if he is bought out.

The Celtics have gone to the buyout route in the past. They were able to coax PJ Brown out of retirement and add Sam Cassell in 2008. Both players helped them win a championship. They weren’t as fortunate in 2009 — Mikki Moore and Stephon Marbury — or last season when they aacquired Troy Murphy, Carlos Arroyo and Sasha Pavlovic.