CelticsBlog.com

Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Rumor: Paul for Ray (Chad Ford on 1510)

He says that the Celtics and Sonics have talked about a Paul Pierce for Ray Allen deal. The deal is apparently off the table now because it isn't enough from the C's perspective, and the C's management is pushing to keep Paul. However, if the Sonics were to "sweeten" the deal, it could be considered. Names he threw out include Daniels, Radmanovic, and Swift. No details, just vague rumors.

Ray Allen apparently really wants to come to Boston (ties from UConn). His contract extension talks are held up significantly.

Update: Looking at Chad's Insider update, he mentions this deal just as I laid it out. Sonics are shopping him, C's aren't interested, Chad feels like they could sweeten the pot and maybe get something done but doesn't sound like he thinks it will go down. The sweeteners he's talking about are either adding another player (like said above), or perhaps swapping Blount for Potapenko's expiring deal. He also mentions Jiri as a throw in on our side.

The thinking is that if the deal goes down, the C's would have a shot at resigning him if they want. Otherwise, they'll have cap room to go after a Dalembert or Stro Swift. Seems like a gamble to me, for little payoff. If the C's had some confidence that Ray would resign, maybe its worth a look.

My random thoought: Why not wait till the summer? If Ray really wants to come to Boston, the teams could always work out a sign-and-trade in the offseason. That also gives the Sonics the opportunity to keep it together for the stretch run this year and gives the C's more time to ponder the future Pierce has on this team.

Anyway, this is not very likely to happen, but it does give food for thought. Ray is one of the few guys on the market I could live with exchanging for Paul if the right package was included.

# posted by Jeff @ 2/23/2005 05:45:00 PM

- Message Board