The Boston Celtics have falled down to the bottom of the Atlantic division in the eastern conference and with the trade deadline getting closer, many see the team as one that could be very active at the trading deadline and names like Omer Asik, Jeff Green, Kris Humphries, Rajon Rondo and Brandon Bass have all been mentioned in rumors and will continue to pop up as the deadline gets closer.
The Celtics traded away Jordan Crawford, MarShon Brooks, and Courtney Lee heading into the deadline and while many have mentioned Rondo as well, the team has been steadfast in their denials that they are dealing the point guard. Boston has been looked at as a seller since the beginning of the season and that started after the Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce trade, but the talk cooled a bit at the beginning of the season when the team started off fairly well, but now things have fallen into place. The Celtics are likely to make more moves, but the names that probably won't be traded includes both Rajon Rondo and Kris Humphries. The team was connected to Asik earlier in a trade that appeared to be going down, but it never got close to being official.
Danny Ainge has repeatedly said that the team will not be trading Rondo and another one that could end up staying is Humphries, who has taken on a strong role with the team and he is averaging nearly a double-double with nine points and 9.1 rebounds and he has been a fan favorite as well. According to ESPN.com, Humphries may actually want to stay in the city after being part of the blockbuster trade that sent Garnett and Pierce to the Nets. Humphries said to reporters this week that he wants to play with Rondo more now that he has come back from his ACL injury and also that he wants to be in the city with the team.
Humphries has been mentioned in numerous trade rumors since being moved to the Celtics due to the fact that he has a $12 million expiring contract and he could end up signing back with the team as a free agent. Jeff Green has also been mentioned in rumors regarding the Celtics and while he is scoring more than in the past, he is shooting from a lower percentage from the floor from the past two seasons and one reason the team may think about trading him is the two years and nearly $20 million left on his deal. The Celtics will be looking for draft picks in any deal and that could open things up if they want to be active at the deadline.
