Danny Ainge and his Boston Celtics were quiet during the trade deadline period, but it wasn’t as if they weren’t calling around.
Boston was linked to names such as Dwight Howard and Kevin Love.
However, the buck didn’t stop with those two.
Prior to the trade deadline, the Boston Celtics expressed interest in obtaining Anthony via a trade with the Knicks, according to league sources with knowledge of the situation. […] It is unclear if there were any formal discussions between New York and Boston and if those discussions ever reached an advanced stage. But Boston was informed that Anthony had no desire to leave the Knicks via trade to play for the Celtics, sources say.
When asked about last week, Ainge had some interesting things to say.
“I can’t tell you the team or the name, but it was very close. It was something we had been deliberating on for two days straight,” said Ainge. “We were wrapping ourselves around a big package to do a deal, and at the very last minute … they did not want to do it, they backed out.”
Now before you start assuming Ainge is talking about Melo, think again.
Melo has a no-trade clause, so it’ll be his decision if he wanted to be traded or not. Considering he has no interest in leaving New York at this point, it’s very unlikely Ainge was referring to a Melo deal.