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Tyreke Evans

The Celtics are trying to land Kings guard Tyreke Evans prior to the 3 p.m. NBA trade deadline, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein.

Rumors of the C’s interest in the No. 4 overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft have surfaced before, and given Sacramento’s willingness to part ways on Thursday with their first- and second-round picks from this past June’s draft — Thomas Robinson and Tyler Honeycutt, respectively — along with longtime Kings wing Francisco Garcia, it’s no surprise Celtics president of basketball relations Danny Ainge is eager to get Sacramento GM Geoff Petrie on the phone.

Evans has averaged 15.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals in 31.1 minutes a night for the miserable Kings organization, but the question is whether the 23-year-old former NBA Rookie of the Year has been part of the problem in Sacramento. He has a $6.9 million qualifying offer for next season.

It’s unclear what the Celtics would offer in return for Evans. Also, Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears reported that both Evans and Kings teammate DeMarcus Cousins “have been given the impression they would not be dealt.”

Latest word out of Boston: Celtics making deadline-day run at player they’ve pursued before … Tyreke Evans

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 21, 2013 ^[4]

Kings Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins have been given the impression that they would not be dealt, a source said.

— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) February 21, 2013 ^[5]