Or, he was willing to add pieces for a playoff run that could be the last for the New Big 3.
In the end, he did neither.
“ I was looking at both opportunities: to strengthen our team for the playoff run this year, and/or building up some chips and building for the future,” Ainge said in a conference call with reporters a few hours after the trade deadline passed at 3 p.m. without the Celtics making a deal. “We actually had some conversations on both. Nothing seemed good enough to do.”
The aging Celtics have been up and down this year as they try to survive the compressed and shortened season for a playoff push that will almost certainly be the last time Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are together. They entered Thursday in seventh place in the Eastern Conference and 1.5 games behind Philadelphia in the Atlantic Division.
That left Ainge in no-man’s land: He was willing to break up the Big 3 to build for the future — the rumors were actually hottest surrounding point guard Rajon Rondo — but he also listened to deals that would have paid off immediately. He was considering offers as late as 2: 57 p.m., he said.
“A handful of trades — from small to bigger — that just couldn’t be resolved, and that happens often,” Ainge said. “There were deals we wanted to do that we couldn’t get a taker, and there were deals other teams wanted to do that we just wouldn’t bite on.”
Ainge said the Celtics are still looking for a big man to replace forward Chris Wilcox, who was diagnosed this week with an enlarged aorta that will keep him out for the rest of the season. They are reportedly interested in New Orleans center Chris Kaman; Hornets GM Dell Demps said he is inclined to hold onto the 7-footer rather than buy him out.
“We do need to add another big man,” Ainge said. “We’re waiting to find the best big man available. We’re being a little bit patient on that and we’ll see who’s available.”
Ainge said he could not be sure if Jermaine O’Neal will play again this season. The 33-year-old center has been out since Feb. 22 with a wrist injury, and he is expected to retire at the end of the season. The two are scheduled to meet tomorrow.
Ainge said he believes in his players, though the lockout had done them few favors.
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