Is A Josh Smith to Boston Trade Realistic?

Posted by Brian Robb on Feb 19, 2013 3517310 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2013%2F02%2F19%2Fis-a-josh-smith-to-boston-trade-realistic%2FIs+A+Josh+Smith+to+Boston+Trade+Realistic%3F+2013-02-19+12%3A57%3A25Brian+Robbhttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D35173

We’re closing in on just two full days remaining until the NBA trade deadline on February 21st, and as expected, the Boston Celtics have been at the center of many potential dealings coming out in recent reports. One possibility that isn’t going away is the potential acquiring of Josh Smith, a guy who has seemingly been on the block at the trade deadline for 3-4 years now incredibly. After tweeting some nuggets on Smith last night, Marc Stein of ESPN.com had an extensive article on Smith this morning, floating some possibilities on the C’s thinking.

NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com on Monday that the Boston Celtics have, indeed, registered their interest on the Smith front, with the caveat that they also remain highly interested in the Clippers’ Eric Bledsoe. 

Yet a Boston deal for Smith, sources said, would almost certainly have to be built around Paul Pierce, because Kevin Garnett isn’t waiving his no-trade clause to go to the Atlanta Hawks if he’s not willing to waive it to go to the Clipperland. And the prospect of Celtics front-office chief Danny Ainge exiling Pierce to the Hawks for Smith, after everything Pierce has done to restore the Celtics to glory over the past half-decade, is still hard to imagine. 

At least for me.

Even if Garnett did wind up with the Clippers this week, after all the bluster against the idea, I still struggle to picture the Celtics telling Pierce that they’re going to send him to the Hawks for the good of Boston’s long-term health. The deal might make sense for Atlanta — since Pierce’s $5 million buyout for next season would extend the Hawks’ window of flexibility and create a new set of options — but it still looks like as an impossible sell in Boston.

Stein floats a number of other theories in his piece that we’ve discussed here at the Hub. Given the constant trade talk over the last few days that won’t go away however, there is still a lot to debate here. Thus I was able to join Rich Keefe on 98.5 The Sports Hub late last night in studio to discuss the Josh Smith rumor and all Celtics trade talk in great depth. A few of the topics we broke down in depth:

–Just how legitimate was the Rajon Rondo for Dwight Howard trade rumor?
–The chances of Paul Pierce or Kevin Garnett being dealt
–Realistic trade additions for the Celtics
–Possible other trade candidates from around the league

You can listen to the full podcast by clicking the play button below, or download the mp3 as well.