Yahoo! Sports NBA writer Marc Spears checked in with Dennis & Callahan on Tuesday to discuss the rumors of a trade between the Celtics and Clippers, and the Celtics’ interest in Hawks forward Josh Smith.

Kevin Garnett

With Thursday’s trade deadline fast approaching, rumors continue to swirl that the Celtics and Clippers are discussing a deal that would send Kevin Garnett to Los Angeles for DeAndre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe.

“I think the Clippers want it done more so than Boston,” Spears said. “This is the first time we’ve ever talked about the Clippers having a championship shot. I think they realize that they’re missing just a little something to get them over that hump with Oklahoma City and with San Antonio. And who better to get them there than Kevin Garnett?

“I was there [at All-Star Weekend] when Kevin said no, no circumstance, nothing. But I really believe if Danny [Ainge] came up to him and said, ‘Hey, this is something we would like to do; this is better for our future,’ knowing Garnett’s pride, I think he would probably change his mind. I know he doesn’t want to be somewhere where they’d rather have something else.”

Jordan is having a solid fourth season (9.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and Bledsoe, while not a starter, also is having a good year (9.6 ppg, 3.3 apg).

“DeAndre Jordan I think is a better center than [he's] getting credit for,” Spears said. “He’s really really retooled his offensive game, gotten better in the post, but the problem is everybody on the Clippers likes to shoot. … I think he could be one of the NBA’s elite centers, he’s just not given a chance.

“Bledsoe is very very talented, very athletic. I don’t know that acquiring him certainly means that [Rajon] Rondo is gone. He and Chris Paul play a lot together, so I can’t see why him and Rondo can’t play a lot together. But I know Bledsoe is at a point in his career, too, where he wants to start, so that’s where I think it gets kind of tricky.”

It appears that the trade could benefit both clubs. It would give the Celtics a quality starting center and a young point guard, while the Clippers would get a player with championship experience who still is playing good basketball at the age of 36. KG has stated numerous times, though, that he wants to finish his career with the Celtics.

“I know the Clippers want to do this, I know they want to,” Spears said, adding: “This is an opportunity for the Clippers to finally get something. The window with Garnett obviously is about two years, but they’ve never been here and I think their owner might be in the mentality now of just ‘Let’s go for it. I’ve saved money for all these years with these bad teams, I might as well do something for once.’ So I think they’re open to doing something big.”

Another potential trade target for the Celtics is Atlanta’s Smith. Smith and Rondo are close friends and could make a nice duo for the team for many years to come.

“If you could get this kid [Smith], keep in mind, I don’t know if a lot of people know that he and Rondo are very close,” Spears said. “They were teammates at Oak Hill Academy, roommates. When Josh Smith got married, I believe that Rondo was either best man or one of the groomsmen. They’re real close, their ladies hang out and all that.

“To me, I like getting him more than Bledsoe and DeAndre. But what if you could maybe get both of them to happen? Then you’ve got a really great young team you could ride with for a long time. I’m pretty confident if Josh can get onto the same team with Rajon, that he’ll want to stay. That’s how tight they are and they’d be great together. I don’t buy that Josh Smith is a bad guy. I think that Atlanta organization is in a lot of ways loony and messed up. It’s unstable, and a professional [team] like Boston would be great for him. Doc [Rivers] would be great for him. I think he would be a perennial All-Star here.”

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