Will the Boston Celtics Target Josh Smith Amongst Others at the Trade Deadline?

Could the Boston Celtics have a very different looking team come March 16? Could newer faces replace the veterans? Well, with the way the trade rumors have been coming out, it could very well happen.

Danny Ainge has been reportedly shopping point guard Rajon Rondo “hard” and either he is checking his value or he is seriously thinking about making a move that will allow the Celtics to benefit in the long term.

A report was out that saying that the Celtics are not expected to trade Rondo before the deadline, but are just checking his trade value as there has been some interest from other teams.

Another rumor involved the Celtics looking into bringing in Josh Smith from the Atlanta Hawks. Smith has spent his entire NBA career (seven-plus season) with Atlanta and would be a great rebuilding (young talent) piece for the Celtics.

If a trade were to go through for Smith, there would need to be other players involved, if not another team that would be interested in facilitating such a move. A package of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen may not be entirely what the Hawks would want as they would likely be seeking younger players in their prime who fit their long-term plans rather than ending salaries.

If the Celtics do break up their team, it will be interesting to see what pieces they can bring in for the long term. Otherwise, Ainge could be doing some early scouting around and make a major trade during the summer when the Celtics will clearly be in a total rebuilding mode.

However, at this time it is still quite early to tell who is actually going to be traded since the deadline is less than two weeks away.