The Boston Celtics ultimately held onto veteran players Paul
Pierce and Kevin Garnett, as well as guard Rajon Rondo, through this season’s
trade deadline. However, the club nearly dealt Pierce in a three-team trade
that also involved the Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
As much as any of the proposed deals discussed in February, perhaps this had been the closest Pierce had come to parting with the Celtics, sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Dallas had put together a package that included Jae Crowder,
Brandan Wright and Dahntay Jones to Atlanta, with the Mavericks and Hawks
exchanging positions in the 2013 NBA Draft, according to Wojnarowski. Boston
would have received Josh Smith, while the Mavericks would have snagged Pierce
in the trade.
The deal ultimately fizzled over the picks involved, but
this was apparently the closest the Celtics came to beginning their rebuilding
effort.
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