Danny Ainge says Hawks aren’t planning to move ‘key guys’
No Al Horford?
Celtics trade rumors are much ado about nothing — so far.
Danny Ainge joined 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “The Toucher and Rich Show’’ Thursday morning and addressed some of the trade talk circulating before the Feb. 18 deadline. Ainge said he doesn’t think the Atlanta Hawks will move their “key guys,’’ despite a report Wednesday Ainge and the Celtics were “excited’’ about the possibility of trading for Hawks center Al Horford. The Hawks were also reportedly open to trading guard Jeff Teague.
“By leaking [reports] like that, you can find maybe what people are willing to offer,’’ Ainge told Toucher and Rich. “Typically when you do that and you leak out you’re willing to move your team or break up your team and start over, you don’t really get people looking for bargains. They not going to give you the best deals.’’
Ainge knows a thing or two about blowing up teams (see: 2013 and the end of the “Big 3’’). Still, there’s a caveat.
“There’s proposals that have been made that have been turned down by us, and proposals we have made that have been turned down,’’ Ainge said, speaking generally about the trade market. “But you never know if they’re going to come back to life, and sometimes they come back to life two hours before the trade deadline, so you have to communicate through the whole process.’’
The Celtics’ president of basketball operations reiterated that the Brooklyn Nets pick (which the Celtics received in the Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry trade) wasn’t off the table, though it would require a large bounty from the potential trade partner.
In a throwback Thursday moment, he admitted the Celtics considered tanking this time last year, before eventually green lighting the trade which brought Isaiah Thomas to Boston. Thomas scored 36 points in the Celtics’ 139-134 overtime win over the Clippers on Wednesday.
And while the Celtics have won 10 of their last 12, Ainge says they still aren’t on the same level as the Cavaliers, Spurs, or Warriors. But Ainge added: “Extraordinary is possible.’’
Potential Celtics trade targets
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