Can The Celtics Get Kobe For Scalabrine, Draft Pick?

No, not really. It was actually Kobe and Pau for Scalabrine, Tony Allen, Eddie House, J.R. Giddens, and Rasheed Wallace's corpse.

Okay, just made that one up too.

Here's the thing...almost every Celtics trade analysis article I've read lately sounds pretty similar to what I just wrote. Fanciful. Far fetched. It makes me wonder if some C's fans are even considering that there are, in fact, two sides to a trade.

Here are some of the more interesting proposals I've seen floating around Bleacher Report:

• Rasheed Wallace to Dallas for Drew Gooden — Well, this one actually made me chuckle. 'Sheed is playing the worst ball of his career, and is clearly one of the problems the Celtics are having, but someone thinks that Dallas would actually give us a rebounding power forward for him? Seriously?
• Brian Scalabrine and Bill Walker to New Orleans for James Posey — Nope. First, the salaries don't match. Second, Posey is done. Third, why would the Celtics want Posey around for two more years at a price that they weren't willing to pay the first time around?
• Ray Allen, J.R. Giddens, and Sheldon Williams to the Bulls for Kirk Hinrich, Tyrus Thomas, and John Salmons — Oh my! Let's start with Tyrus Thomas being an absolute mental case that the Bulls are trying desperately to dump. Not sure he would help the Celtics. Kirk Hinrich does not shoot well enough to start alongside Rondo, so his primary value is that of a backup PG. Quite pricey for a backup PG. He's also under contract for two more years. John Salmons is having trouble getting minutes on a bad team...not a good replacement for Ray at SG. This trade actually works well for the Bulls though...they get a lot of cap relief as all players received are in the final year of their deal.
• Ray Allen and Sheldon Williams to GSW for Monta Ellis and Corey Maggette — Can't figure this one out either. Maggette is under contract for three more years, is already 30 years old, is making over $8MM a year, and has always been known as a player interested only in Corey. Not a good fit. Ellis is under contract for another four years at over $11MM per, and is a high-volume, undersized gunner who can't defend a chair. Not a good fit.

There are quite a few other rumors out there besides the few I listed. Most just won't work, others are wishful thinking.

Sacramento's Kevin Martin comes up a lot in these rumors. Any Celtics fan asking themselves why he is available? He doesn't make a lot for a starting SG and he can put up reasonable numbers. So why would Sac-town trade him? He is either not as good as people think, or he isn't actually on the market. Having seen a fair number of Sacramento games, I think it is actually a combination of the two.

About the only rumored deal that would involve Ray Allen that makes any sense to me is one that sends Ray, Scal & Tony Allen to Philly for Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert. If Philly were in straight salary dumping mode, then it works for them. For the Celtics, Dalembert could actually allow the C's to bench Wallace for someone willing to rebound and block shots. Iguodala could actually play a SF role on offense and have Pierce take over as the primary shooter. Iggy taking over the slashing would save Pierce's legs for the playoffs, and he isn't a bad long-term fit alongside Rajon Rondo.

Two things have to happen to involve Ray Allen in a trade this season. One, the Celtics need a starting SG or SF in return...someone who can be a solid piece for the future without hurting this season's playoff run. Two, they can't be taking back any long-term (< 2 years) contracts on the "throw-in" players. Boston's financial situation next season is not rosy...adding bad contracts for role players just isn't going to happen.

Danny Ainge will figure someone out. If he makes any trades this season, my guess is that it will be a minor one...something to get a backup PG or a backup PF.