More Talk: Camby on the Move, Ainge Content with Something Small, Knicks-Rockets Still Chasing After Deal

Let's just get this out of the way... the Clippers basically auctioned off Marcus Camby, who was bidded on and won by Portland (for Travis Outlaw, Steve Blake, and $3 million). The deal was finished this morning as Marc Spears and Adrian Wojnarowski reported. Marcus Camby was not at all happy:

Camby, 35, is averaging 7.7 points and 12.1 rebounds for the Clippers. He is making $9.1 million this season in the final year of his contract. Just last week, he told Yahoo! Sports he hoped the Clippers wouldn’t trade him.

“It feels good to be a wanted man, but I like it here,” Camby said.

Camby left the restaurant without most of his teammates getting a chance to tell him goodbye. He is not believed to have finished his meal.

Clippers' players certainly know what's up with this deal: LAC sold off Camby for money, and aren't done yet:

Said one Clipper: “All the guys are upset because our best defensive player got traded basically for a backup point guard and money.”

Outlaw, 25, played in 11 games this season before breaking his left foot, and the Clippers are unsure when he’ll play again. Blake, 29, is averaging 7.6 points and four assists in 51 games.

The Blazers have been searching for some inside help to deflect the blow of losing centers Greg Oden(notes) and Joel Przybilla(notes). Some in the league also believe Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard wanted to clear the way for Jerryd Bayless(notes) to get more time in the backcourt with Andre Miller(notes).

The Clippers, meanwhile, also have been shopping forward Al Thornton(notes), who was meeting with his agent Monday in Portland.

Marc Spears also noted that Camby left the restaurant where he was given the word from his agent about the deal without finishing his meal. You know it's a mess when an athlete doesn't have the stomach to continue eating.

After the deal was finished, LAC waived former Celtic Ricky Davis to make room for Outlaw and Blake.

To keep updated with the trade, follow Blazersedge's analysis and reports here.

In other news, we arrive at the Celtics, who may not be as involved as buyers as we thought just a mere 24 hours ago. As much as Celtics fans are hoping for a blockbuster deal before February 18th, Danny Ainge might not have the same mindset as us:

Here are a few rumor updates this morning from the Herald's Mark Murphy.

General manager Danny Ainge declined comment on any trade discussions with other teams, but league sources said the Celts still are working the phones, with their primary goal to land a backup point guard - especially one who can defend.

Chicago's Kirk Hinrich, who's due to make an average of $9 million per year through the 2011-12 season, and Charlotte's D.J. Augustin, who has one year left on his rookie contract (with a team option for 2011-12), remain possibilities.

Not sure why Augustin keeps getting mentioned as a guy that can defend.  That's not really his reputation.  But whatever.

The team also hopes the recent return of Marquis Daniels, combined with Tony Allen's emergence as one of the best defenders in the rotation, will help solve the problem. Daniels' presence also will enable House to move off the ball and into the role that suits him best - catching and shooting.

With that in mind, Ainge isn't in a hurry to make a risky deal.

That's why the Celtics deemed Washington forward Antawn Jamison, who has two years and approximately $30 million left on his contract, too old and expensive.

Chad Ford also had this to say in his chat today: "Danny Ainge continues to maintain that a trade is unlikely. He's willing to move Ray Allen to get a young player back, but the guys he's pursuing -- Monta Ellis, Kevin Martin, Andre Iguodala, etc -- aren't available for just an expiring deal (at least not yet). And I don't think the Celtics want to take on a horrific contract like Corey Maggette or Richard Hamilton. That's the problem. I know some GMs around the league think Boston is desperate. But after making some calls yesterday, I think they are content with just doing something small."

Look, you can never trust Ainge. Whether it's discreet or completely blown out of every possible proportion, he will continue to deny anything to protect the chemistry of the players. I, for one, can't see so much talk going on without something happening or at least them shopping somebody big. I consider a trade where we give up Rasheed and one or two more players to be big, especially for a team that has had absolutely NO participation whatsoever in transactions until after the deadline for two years.

All in all, it's good to see that Danny has the same partial view of the team that we do. On a side note, it's good to see he's looking at Detroit. Maybe he'll stumble on that Ray-Ray for Ben Gordon and Tayshaun Prince deal.

However, another deal that has been mentioned countless times before but ignored has come into perspective (via CelticsBlog):

Along with McGrady talks, Walsh will be busy before 2/18. Word is Celtics are still very interested in Nate Robinson.

Now that would be an interesting deal. I can't quite say how Robinson would fit in with the Celtics-system, but despite not necessarily being a pass-first guard, he could back up Rondo fairly well considering that he can finish the fast break extremely well and he's quick. Whether or not he would receive the backup spot without a big fiasco of complaints and turbulence in the player's roles and positions is up in the air. He seems like he's fine with hard work as long as he's on a winner. Then again, we've certainly never seen him on a winner. In short, the whole thing is a big fat question mark.

Speaking of the Knicks, nothing has much changed in the T-Mac to New York deal except that Larry Hughes is likely to replace Al Harrington in the trade and they've come slightly closer to getting it done.

And just for fun, here's a comical video of the backstage talks going on between Houston and New York. Also, here's an interesting trade column from Bill Simmons, estimating and evaluation the value of players for this year's deadline.

Make sure to stop by Celtics 17's league-wide live blog on Thursday, Feb. 18th at 12 p.m.-4 p.m. EST for the best NBA trade deadline coverage!

Rumors, Thoughts, and Kindling the Trade Deadline Fire

After another memorable All-Star weekend (besides the Dunk Contest) in the books, it's time to start preparing for this year's NBA trade deadline. As reporters have heavily alluded to, we're in for an exciting couple days heading into Thursday's deadline this year. And as TNT analysts pointed out last night, the dominoes will start to fall after the blockbuster Dallas-Washington deal.

Let's start with Cleveland/Amar'e Stoudemire. At this point, the Cavs proposed offer for Amar'e has become the back pocket deal for Phoenix, as they appear to be one of many teams that are extremely interested in Andre Iguodala. The Cleveland deal, as much as Phoenix wants to dump cash and as intriguing as a J.J. Hickson pickup while he's still cheap is, will be the absolute rock bottom point in this sell for the Suns if it goes through, given Amar'e ability. The Suns don't want to be the team to trade a top five big man without getting a superstar, or at least a star, in return. And with the Heat heavily pursuing Stoudemire and there still being potential for a Suns-Sixers deal, I can't see Amar'e going to Cleveland unless a third team comes into the picture, Phoenix gets desperate at the last minute, or Cleveland throws someone else in the deal.

But, all is not lost for Cleveland. Troy Murphy, Andre Iguodala, Antawn Jamison, and more all still remain on the market. And there's no doubting that Cleveland's front office will do most anything it takes to raise the team to a higher level and sweeten the case for LeBron to stay in the 2010 offseason.

And that brings us to Cleveland's inner-conference rivals, the Celtics. Boston is still looking at Antawn Jamison, and appears to have interest in Kevin Martin, Andre Iguodala, and Monta Ellis. D.J. Augustin and Gerald Wallace are also possibilities for the Celtics. However, despite the availability of those players and the involvement Boston has in the market, time is ticking and with just three days left, the Celtics don't seem to be anywhere close to any of those players without offering somebody or something up they've been holding close all along. Boston is all over phone throughout the league, but talks haven't gone any further than a day or two before imploding. With Caron Butler being shipped to Dallas, Boston's best option and most discussed player is now out of reach.

CelticsBlog has suggested Boston gets involved with Phoenix for somebody like Leandro Barbosa, and mentions that a third team would be needed.

On a more panicky note for Boston fans, one NBA GM "gets the feeling that Boston is getting desperate." But if Danny Ainge ever needs an idea, here's one for him: Ray Allen for Ben Gordon (10 mil., 4 years) and Tayshaun Prince (10.34 mil. plus change, 2 years). Gordon would fit perfectly into Boston's system, we'd immediately have our starting shooting guard, and our depth would instantly become a whole lot better. We could go big with Marquis Daniels, Tony Allen, Tayshaun Prince, Glen Davis, and Rasheed, or we could go small with Eddie House, Tony Allen, Marquis Daniels, Tayshaun Prince/Glen Davis, and Rasheed/Shelden. It makes sense for both teams, as Detroit saves roughly 20 million for the offseason and Boston gets an experienced player and a starter for their playoff run (and possibly other playoff runs in the years to come).

Lastly, the Los Angeles Lakers are supposedly looking for a backup point guard (sorry for those of you that don't have ESPN Outsider), according to Chad Ford. Ford reports that both Bulls' guard Kirk Hinrich and Pacers' guard Earl Watson could be on L.A.'s radar:

First, there aren't a lot of great point guards available right now. The Bulls' Kirk Hinrich has been the name most associated with the Lakers, and the team has explored smaller deals, such as one for the Pacers' Earl Watson.

Second, a deal could be very costly. The Lakers already have the highest payroll in the league and would prefer to avoid adding more long-term commitments.

Here's one potential solution: The word out of the All-Star Game late Sunday had the Lakers recruiting the Portland Trail Blazers as a third team in trade talks with the Bulls. According to one source familiar with the discussions, the Lakers would get Hinrich, the Bulls would get Adam Morrison, Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw and Juwan Howard, and the Blazers would land Tyrus Thomas and Sasha Vujacic. Such a deal would lessen the amount of money the Lakers would be adding to their payroll next season.

Make sure to check out Celtics 17's NBA trade deadline live blog on Feb. 18th, Thursday, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST!