Boston Celtics: Latest Trade Rumors, Free Agent News, Draft Buzz

The Celtics are reeling, having lost the first two games of their Eastern Conference finals matchup with the Heat, Game 2 in especially painful fashion. 

They're still alive though, with the series resuming Friday night in Boston, where Rajon Rondo, fresh off a performance (44 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds in all 53 minutes of action) referred to by ESPN's Magic Johnson as "one of the greatest playoff performances" he's ever seen, will look to put the C's on his back again.

There are other stories related to the Celts floating around as well, from the upcoming draft to potential free agents to more playoff scuttlebutt. Here's a look at some of what's been being discussed about the Green.

1. Doc Speaks

As the fouling discrepancy—both technical and personal—between the Celtics and Heat continues to increase (to wit, in his last eight playoff games, in which he's averaged at least 43 minutes per game, LeBron James has been called for exactly eight fouls), Celtics coach Doc Rivers continues to remain calm.

When asked on a conference call on Thursday about the fact that Paul Pierce got to the foul line for the first time in the series in Game 2 and subsequently took six free throws in the game versus the 24 taken by James alone (or, five fewer than the entire Celtics team), Doc was quiet.

"Not going to touch that," Rivers said. "I think Paul Pierce attacked as much as LeBron James did. I'll leave it at that."

Rivers went on to point out, as he did after Game 1, that complaining or worrying about the officiating isn't going to do the Celtics any good and that his team won't succumb to distractions.

"It is what it is," Rivers said. "LeBron James took 24 free throws and our team took 29. Paul Pierce fouled out of a game where he was attacking the basket. It's just tough. But listen, we've just gotta keep playing."

2. Whither KG?

Kevin Garnett has been the Celtics' best option on offense throughout these playoffs, averaging 19.4 points per game in the postseason, up four points from his regular season numbers. 

But while ceding the chief scorer's slot to Rondo in Game 2, KG was significantly off. He finished with 18 points in 45 minutes, but shot just 6-of-18 from the floor and looked pretty passive on more than one occasion.

"We didn't involve him enough," said Rivers. "We can do a better job of getting Kevin involved offensively."

Former Celtic and KG teammate Wally Szczerbiak, now a TV analyst for CBS Sports, wasn't too surprised, saying via Twitter that Garnett "lacks the clutch gene."

Hope Szczerbiak doesn't run into KG in a dark alley any time soon.

3. Working on the Draft Moves

In addition to Game 2, Wednesday night also featured the 2012 draft lottery, with the New Orleans Hornets jumping into the No. 1 overall slot despite having just the fourth-best chance of getting that pick.

Some trade chatter has already begun, and the Celtics are involved. DraftExpress tweeted that not only are the Washington Wizards interested in dealing after failing to land the No. 1 pick, but that the Celts may want to package picks No. 21 and 22, a rumor corroborated by SI.com's Zach Lowe.

Iamagm.com picked up on both of these notes and posted them together in a neat little box.

It should be noted that trying to package picks together to move up is something the Celts would be very wise to do and that's been pointed out here before. 

Right here.

4. And Another Thing About the Draft

After the lottery was completed on Wednesday night, the mock drafts came fast and furious, none more informative and informational than right here.

From the Celtics' perspective, in addition to the previously mentioned possibility of packaging their two first-rounders, they could also stand pat at No. 21 and No. 22, a scenario SI.com's Sam Amick laid out, as noted by the incomparable Jeff Clark over at Celtics Blog. 

At ESPN, David Thorpe outlines who he perceives to be some good fits for the C's, citing UConn 2-guard Jeremy Lamb as the best, St. John's small forward Moe Harkless and French swingman Evan Fournier as good ones and big men Meyers Leonard of Illinois and Fab Melo of Syracuse as "other possibilities."

On the same site, Chad Ford's fifth mock since the tournament has the C's taking Melo at No. 21 and St. Bonaventure power forward Andrew Nicholson at No. 22. Ford cites the Celts' "desperate need for size" as the prevailing factors for making these predictions.

Whether the C's trade out of one or both their slots or stay put, there should be no shortage of potential solid players for them to choose from.

4. Paul Pierce Headed Home?

File this one under "Highly Unlikely." But given the source, it must be mentioned.

ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher wrote a piece on Thursday surmising a few possible destinations for Lakers' forward Pau Gasol. One of them is Boston, in a trade for...wait for it...

Paul Pierce.

"If the Lakers are looking for a go-to scorer from the wing," writes Bucher, "they can't do much better than bringing Pierce home to L.A."

Wow.

Bucher goes on to note that such a deal would give the Lakers a different look than they've had in a while and would bring them closer to Kevin Durant and the Thunder.

The deal, he thinks, would also save L.A. some money as well as work for the Celtics, who he thinks would provide a great pick-and-roll partner for Rondo and be a more than solid replacement for Garnett should KG leave via free agency or retire.

It's hard to imagine something like this actually happening. But Bucher is a much more plugged-in source than some others, making the possibility, as unlikely as it seems, at least a little bit more credible.

5. Jordan "Bunker" Hill

Apologies for the poor attempt at a nickname. But if you believe this potential rumor, it may not be that bad.

According to Chuck Myron at Hoops Rumors, the C's may just be interested in Jordan Hill, the third-year, former lottery pick who has played for three teams already and isn't yet 25 years old.

Hill was traded from Houston to the Lakers this past season and was buried on the L.A. bench before emerging somewhat in the last week of the regular season thanks to a 14 point, 15 rebound performance in a comeback win over Oklahoma City. Six of those boards were on the offensive glass.

Given the Celtics' frontcourt deficiencies, someone like Hill could be worth a flier. He would go on from that game against the Thunder to average five points and six rebounds in 18 minutes per game in the playoffs and has averaged nearly five boards per game in just over 14 minutes through his career.

Remember, C's fans (and we know you do), Boston owned the worst offensive rebounding percentage in the league this year. All of the Celts' injuries up front can't have helped, but whether or not any of those injured players return next season, the team should still be looking for reinforcements.

Hill, who hasn't yet found the right situation in bouncing around for three years, may fit that criteria.

6. Ainge Officially Logs Complaint

Back to the officiating dilemma from the Eastern Conference finals, Celtics GM Danny Ainge could be seen discussing the issue with the NBA's VP of referee operations, Joe Borgia, following Game 2.

Yahoo! Sports NBA guru Adrian Wojnarowski noted the meeting in a column on Thursday morning, quoting Borgia as saying, "I'm sure we missed five or six calls somewhere."

Celtics fans must feel like a wave of comfort just washed over them after reading that one.

Lest there be any accusations of sour grapes from the Celtics, who had to watch Rondo's game for the ages go for naught, consider the following factoid.

Pierce was called for one more foul in Game 2 than LeBron was called for in the Heat's entire six-game Eastern Conference semifinal series against Indiana.

7. Parish Open for Business

In a bit of a sad story, it seems Celtics Hall of Fame center Robert Parish is auctioning off his ring from the team's 1981 championship season.

According to Comcast Sports Net New England, the bidding for Parish's ring was at $31,900 as of late Wednesday and the ring itself is "in near mint condition."

The ring will be sold with a letter of authentication from Parish himself. It can be found at the website greyflannelauctions.com.

Parish has three other rings—two from his other titles won with the C's in 1984 and 1986 and one for an end-of-career win with the Chicago Bulls in 1997.

Parish played more games, 1,611, than any player in NBA history. If he has financial problems serious enough that he has to do something like this, let's cross our fingers he gets them sorted out soon.

8. Jeff Green Likely to Re-Sign

According to Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated, Jeff Green's return from heart surgery will be highlighted by his re-signing with the Boston Celtics. With the plethora of plus-30 players and athletically inept weapons, this should be music to the Celtics' ears.

Green's Agent, David Falk, offers words that should bring even more joy to the Celtics' nation.

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"I'm confident it'll get done," Falk told SI.com of Green's deal. "I guess (Boston) got (Brandon) Bass' (contract) done, which is great. Jeff is trying to get a sense of what the team looks like first before he makes a commitment, but I expect he'll be there and I expect it'll be done by the 11th (when the free agency moratorium ends and deals can be formalized)."

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As for what this means for other players who could land in a Boston Celtics uniform, expect one Ray Allen to pay very close attention to this deal. As Falk elaborates upon, "very close" is the proper term.

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"We've gotten a lot of interest from other teams. But as far as Boston, we're very confident it'll get done. He wants to be in Boston. He's excited about the moves they've made. He's hoping Ray Allen comes back as well, because he's very close to Ray Allen."

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Here's hoping that Boston can retain Jeff Green and end up with more of a package than they expected.