With the NBA’s Feb. 20 trade deadline rapidly approaching, the Boston Celtics — who seemingly are shopping all of their top players — seem close to sending Jeff Green out of town.
According to numerous sources, the Celtics have been shopping Green around and the Atlanta Hawks have apparently bit.
We’re hearing #Hawks looking to get Jeff Green, who is being shopped hard by Danny Ainge and the #Celtics.
— Mitch Lawrence (@Mitch_Lawrence) February 9, 2014
All indications point to the Celtics acquiring DeMarre Carroll in exchange for Green, who has $18.4 million remaining on his contract over the next two seasons. Carroll is due only $2.4 million in the 2014-15 season. He’s averaging a career-high 10.4 points per game and shooting better than 47 percent from the field for the Hawks, who currently hold the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Elton Brand and Lou Williams may also be featured in the swap. Brand is an impending free agent and is due $5 million, while Williams has one year at a little more than $5 million remaining on his contract.
The New York Daily News first reported that Green was being “shopped hard” by Boston. In his sixth season as a pro, Green, 27, is on the verge of a career year. The forward is averaging a team-high 16.3 points per game in addition to 5.0 rebounds, but is shooting almost 42 percent from the field, which would be a career low.
Celtics President Danny Ainge has been looking to shed a number of the team’s largest contracts in recent weeks. Late last week, reports surfaced that the New York Knicks were being linked to All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo in an effort to compile expiring contracts and young talent.
In addition, the team has also put Avery Bradley and Gerald Wallace on the trading block. According to USA Today Sports, Ainge is trying to clear up enough cap space to make a splash in free agency during the summer of 2015 and accumulate draft picks in the process.
