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.”

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Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett said all along he wanted to remain a Celtic, and apparently he said the same thing to Chris Paul after the All-Star guard called to gauge KG’s interest in joining the Clippers.

According to the Boston Herald‘s Mark Murphy, Paul contacted Garnett and said if the veteran big man was open to making the move to Los Angeles, Paul would make it happen. Garnett said no.

The oft-rumored trade would have landed the Celtics center DeAndre Jordan and guard Eric Bledsoe.

The Celtics ended up making one move before Thursday afternoon’s trade deadline, acquiring Jordan Crawford from the Wizards for center Jason Collins and injured guard Leandro Barbosa.

Rajon Rondo

Despite ESPN.com senior writer Chris Broussard‘s insistence that Celtics president Danny Ainge has made injured point guard Rajon Rondo available on the trade market, Rondo’s agent Bill Duffy told USA Today’s Sam Amick that Ainge “assured him” on Wednesday that the four-time All-Star will not be dealt.

Meanwhile, CBSSports.com columnist Ken Berger reports Rondo would only be dealt for Dwight Howard, Chris Paul “or a massive haul of assets” similar to what the Nuggets received for Carmelo Anthony. As you might remember, Melo, Chauncey Billups and three low-level NBA talents returned Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Timofey Mozgov, a first-round draft pick, two second-round picks and $3 million in cash from the Knicks in 2011.

Those scenarios are a pipe dream for Ainge, considering Rondo’s season-ending ACL surgery that leaves him rehabbing for training camp next season.

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Kevin Garnett

According to Yahoo! Sports, the Clippers have halted talks with the Celtics regarding a deal that would send Kevin Garnett to Los Angeles and DeAndre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe to Boston.

The report states that the Celtics are “eager to continue the conversation on the deal,” but it is unclear if the Clippers will move forward with any trade unless star point guard Chris Paul pushes Los Angeles to complete such a transaction.

The Celtics also reportedly won’t consider any other combination of players for Garnett, focusing solely on Jordan and Bledsoe.

Sources told Yahoo! Sports that if the Celtics do trade Garnett, they would also move Paul Pierce, with the report suggesting the Celts captain might be included in a deal for Atlanta’s Josh Smith.

For more Celtics news, go to the team page at weei.com/celtics.

The only thing worse than the NBA’s All-Star Weekend festivities was TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager‘s suit — a hideous monstrosity even by Sager’s standards. No wonder Kevin Garnett won’t play in another All-Star Game.

“Hey, man, stop wearing stuff like this when you do real interviews,” said Garnett, who finished scoreless in just six minutes of action during the East’s 143-138 loss to the West. “Straight up.”

“What’s wrong with it?” asked Sager.

“You look like a Christmas ornament,” Garnett countered.

Gotta love Sager playing naive. Perhaps he forgot Garnett telling him in 2008, “You can’t just grab something from the 1970s and bring it back,” or in 2009, “You take this outfit home, and you burn it.” But surely he recalls Saturday’s All-Star Game practice, when a mutual love of clowning Sager’s suits resolved any lingering conflict over the taste of Honey Nut Cheerios between Garnett and Carmelo Anthony:

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Blake Griffin ran into a stone wall D led early on by Jason Collins. (AP)

Paul Pierce scored 22 points while Jeff Green and Leandro Barbosa added 14 apiece off the bench as the Celtics outlasted the Clippers, 106-104, Sunday afternoon at TD Garden. Pierce’s three as the shot clock expired sealed the win with 2.5 seconds left in the game and helped the Celtics avoid the embarrassment of blowing a 19-point halftime lead. The Celtics finished 11-for-18 from 3-point range while Boston’s bench outscored LA’s reserves, 52-29, with 23 of those 29 coming from Jamal Crawford.

Jason Terry hit a big shot as the shot clock expired late in the fourth quarter as the Celtics won their fourth straight and moved back over .500 at 24-23 on the season. While the Celtics were playing without Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger, the Clippers were without star point guard Chris Paul, missing his seventh game in nine outings with a sore right knee.

Both teams came out on fire in the first quarter. The Celtics started off 8-of-13 from the field while the Clippers hit 6-of-9 to start the game. The Celtics overcame four Clippers dunks in the first quarter to take a 33-30 lead after 12 minutes.

The Celtics turned the defensive screws on the Clippers in the second quarter while staying red-hot themselves. The Celtics scored the first six points of the quarter while Los Angeles didn’t get on the board until Lamar Odom‘s turnaround over four minutes into the quarter. The Celtics forced 15 Clippers turnovers in the first half, including nine in the second quarter. The Celtics managed to turn those 15 turnovers into 24 points and race out to a 59-40 halftime lead.

The Celtics had remarkable balance in the first half, with 10 of their 11 players finding the scoring column. Only rookie Fab Melo, who didn’t see the floor, failed to score. Green and Terry led a potent attack off the bench with nine points apiece, combining to go 4-for-5 from the three-point range.

The Clippers responded to open the third, scoring the first eight points to cut the lead back to 11, 59-48. But after Blake Griffin picked up his fourth foul midway through the third, the Celtics, thanks to a pair of responded, building the lead back to 19, 74-55. The Celtics closed the third as they did in the second quarter, on a run. Green and Barbosa hit back-to-back threes and Barbosa hit a top-of-the-key jumper as time expired to give the Celtics a 92-77 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Celtics were 10-for-14 from long range through three quarters before going ice cold in the fourth. Read the rest of this entry »

Jason Terry could be ready to take flight from Dallas. (AP)

Mavericks’ guard Jason Terry, an integral part of the Mavericks 2011 NBA Championship run, is set to be an unrestricted free agent July 1 and has voiced his desire for a long term deal.

The 34-year-old was last a free agent in 2006 when he was quickly re-signed by the Mavericks to a six-year, $57 million contract. This time around Terry wants another multi-year contract, preferably with Dallas, but he also has said he’s willing to test the free agent market.

The Mavericks have been rumored to be interested in acquiring free agent superstar Deron Williams if he opts out of his contract. If that’s the case then Dallas most likely will be unable to sign Terry to a long-term deal if they want to land Williams. If they can’t sign the point guard then they may choose to sign players to one-year contracts in order to prepare for next year’s free agent class that includes Dwight Howard and Chris Paul. Terry wasn’t interested in that scenario.

“I won’t be here,” Terry said. “You can count on that. If they’re doing that, you won’t see the Jet on the runway in Dallas.”

Terry switched agents recently hiring Arn Tellem and B.J. Armstrong from the Wasserman Group after cutting ties with Dan Fegan