There was word last night from two league executives that teams will now look more closely at the Celts to see if a piece or two can be harvested for other clubs’ runs. President of basketball operations Danny Ainge will most certainly receive offers for captain Paul Pierce, and even some complementary pieces could draw interest.

But amid calls from the crowd to blow things up, one must keep in mind that, in the NBA, the Celtics would have to take back similar salaries when trading players away. So unless an opposing general manager has young and promising players that a.) the C’s want and b.) add up to somewhere in the vicinity of the nearly $17 million Pierce will make this season, then the prospect of a deal is pretty much a non-starter. It’s also possible the Celts could take a chance on a player with a longer deal, but we already know they’re wary of talented problems.

via Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald