26
Jun
2007
Paul Pierce to Demand Trade Later this Week?
Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics has made it clear to management that if they do not acquire a veteran player this week, he will publicly demand a trade. This news was announced in the midst of intense trade talks involving four teams; Celtics, Timberwolves, Lakers, and Pacers. Under the proposed deal which Boston has apparently just backed out of, the Celtics would ship their pick in the draft and either Al Jefferson, or a package of younger players, to Minnesota and acquire Jermaine O’neal from Indiana. However, Ainge not being a fan of O’neal’s and a prior history of a somewhat verbal confrontation between the two makes it unlikely for the Celtics to participate in the blockbuster trade.
Upon hearing the news of Boston backing out and passing on a chance to get O’neal from Indiana, a little more than an hour ago, Pierce relayed a message inferring that Boston would have more problems later this week if a trade does not go through. Pierce will have fairly good trade value and plenty of teams would be interested in his services. The latest Pierce development out of Boston adds life to the potential blockbuster four team trade, just an hour after it was believed to have died. (12:45PM Eastern Time)
Minnesota, Los Angeles Still in Trade Talks
Shortly after it was reported that the four team blockbuster trade was losing life because of Boston backing out, news has broken that the Lakers and Timberwolves are still in serious talks about packaging players in an attempt to move Kevin Garnett. It is said that Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown would be sent to Minnesota for Garnett and disgruntled and overpaid guard Troy Hudson. The only snag in the deal is the Lakers draft choice is 19th overall, and the Timberwolves want a higher pick. If the four team blockbuster of earlier dies down completely, look for the Lakers to try and swing a higher pick from a different team to appease McHale of the Timberwolves.