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!
