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Danny Ainge Says ‘Nothing Is Even Close’ Regarding Potential Celtics Trade

If the Celtics don't make a trade before the March 15 deadline, it won't be because general manager Danny Ainge hasn't tried. However, it's looking more and more like the C's won't make a huge splash.

"Nothing is even close. As of right now we have nothing close to happening," Ainge said Thursday on WEEI's The Big Show. "It's not from a lack of trying. Not necessarily to make major changes but to make small changes at least.

With the Celtics going through an up-and-down season, there's been plenty of trade speculation regarding both The Big Three and Rajon Rondo. It's been widely debated whether the aging C's are legitimate title contenders, or whether it's time for Ainge to make some changes in an effort to rebuild going forward.

"It's a fine line," Ainge said. "But I'm not going to sacrifice future assets to help our bench right at this minute."

In fact, Ainge isn't so sure the term "rebuild" is one that completely applies to the Celtics when it comes to their future.

"You've got to have some good things go your way to rebuild. We've got some good pieces," the Boston GM said. "We've got some players still under contract that we really like still on the roster. More than we did in the 2002-2003 era. Completely rebuild, I'm not sure we really need to do that."

Ainge said there's a long way to go before the March 15 deadline, though, and that he continues to get a "handful" of calls each day.