NBA Trade Rumors: Celtics Admit They Are Not Contenders, Willing to Blow Team Up

The Boston Celtics have apparently conceded as 2012 NBA Finals contenders and are willing to blow the team up in the name of acquiring cap room and young prospects.

According to an NBC SportsTalk interview with Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski:

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Boston is very active out there. They're willing to trade any of that Big Three if they can find a deal that helps them going forward with cap space, with draft picks. Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers have determined internally 'we're not contenders, we're not going to win the championship this year'... And if the right deal comes along for Pierce, Garnett or Ray Allen, they're gonna move them.

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It’s a shame that the end of the Big Three era is here, but everyone knew their window was going to be short when they were assembled in 2007.

They won a championship in 2008 and ultimately, the Celtics accomplished their main goal.

So what happens now?

Paul Pierce is the most likely to be moved, according to Woj, because Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett become free agents at the end of the season anyway and their contracts will be off the books.

Remember, they are looking for draft picks and cap space.

The Celtics’ captain has two years left on his deal and will be paid over $32 million in for the 2012-13 and ’13-’14 seasons.

It would make the most sense to ditch Pierce in this context, although he’s a future Hall of Famer and a fan-favorite who has spent his entire career in Boston, so it’s an extremely tough call.

However, trading him means that the team can acquire another first-round pick in the loaded 2012 draft, it will be worth it.

Danny Ainge deserves credit for building this team and raising another banner in the Garden, but he also knows when it’s time to sacrifice a season for the good of the future.

It’s a wise decision and one that will pay dividends in the long run.