CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Rumors are Heating Up

Tonight on Sports Tonight, Tanguay, Russillo, Mannix and Felger were discussing the rumors floating around. It seems that Rondo is indeed being shopped around and could be traded. Apparently, Rondo is looking for a big pay day and the Celtics may not be willing to shell out for the big contract that he is likely to demand. Also, they mentioned that some of the players don't especially like playing with Rondo. All this is news to the fans. The bottom line is that Rondo is very talented and has played himself into a bigger contract. If you want to win, you have to pay for the players who can get you there. Point guard is a tough position to fill and the Celtics have a good one. I just don't see giving him away over money. There is a reason why there are a lot of teams out there who would love to have Rondo and the Celtics need to be very sure they can fill that position with someone just as good or better before they let Rondo go.

Also mentioned was that rumor about Perk and Walker for the #2 pick. They didn't seem to take that one very seriously. It just doesn't make sense to trade a player who is perfect for this team and a bargain to boot and start all over with a project. Center is another tough position to fill and the Celtics have filled it with one of the best defensive centers in the league. As they mentioned on Sports Tonight: if you look at how Perk played Howard in the playoffs and how others played him, trading Perk is not a very smart move. Other teams are making moves with an eye toward matching up with Perk. I am sure if Danny trades Perk, he will get thank you notes from centers all over the East because suddenly the Celtics aren't near as tough inside.

One of the teams that is looking to improve up front to match up with the Celtics is Cleveland. There have been a lot of rumors surrounding the possible Cavs and Suns trade that would send Shaq to the Cavs for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic. The Suns would save some money and the Cavs would get bigger and tougher up front to match up with the Celtics (and the Magic).

Speaking of the Magic, Hedo Turkoglu opted out of his contract and will be looking for a big payday. In order to give it to them, the Magic will probably be trying to move Rafer Alston, who wasn't all that happy with his playing time once Jameer Nelson returned to the lineup anyway.

The Hawks are looking to move Josh Smith, but may have trouble moving him since he has a $7 million trade kicker that will probably discourage most teams.

The guy Celtics fans love to hate, Bill Laimbeer has resigned as the coach of the Detroit Shock in order to pursue a coaching job in the NBA. He has been successful as a coach in the WNBA and will probably be given a chance sooner or later. I still don't like the guy. Let's hope he doesn't teach his dirty tricks to his team.

With the draft coming up, I expect there to be more and more smoke and a little fire as the rumors heat up about trades for draft picks. Also, on July 1, teams can start signing free agents and then it is going to get wild. I still think Danny should hold off on any big moves and concentrate on building the bench. If he wants to contend for another championship this season, he shouldn't mess with the chemistry too much. Leave the starting 5 alone and give them a bench to back them up so that they don't have to play an insane amount of minutes through the year. The Celtics need to improve, but it isn't the starters that need improvement. If the bench can hold their own, the starters will be able to stay healthier and fresher and banner 18 could be on it's way.

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