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Trading Ray Allen, Paul Pierce Would Have Been ‘Scary’ for Celtics Coach Doc Rivers (Video)

Telling a player he has been traded, only to call back a short time later to tell him he actually has not been traded after all, could be described a number of ways.

Awkward. Uncomfortable. Possibly volatile.

Doc Rivers had another word to describe a report that Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were nearly traded away in March, which Rivers confirmed prior to Wednesday's game against the Magic. That word was "scary."

"If you lose Ray Allen, that's a scary moment," Rivers said. "He's pretty good."

Rivers downplayed the impact of the report, noting that it happened more than a month ago and that the team and players had moved on. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, not Rivers himself, was the person who called Allen to inform him of the trade, the coach said.

It was a call Rivers would never want to make.

"I wouldn't want to see Ray, Paul or Kevin [Garnett] ever move," Rivers said. "That's just how you are. Even if you got the best deal in the world, you're still losing guys you have an attachment with. That would be scary."

While such a situation could lead to bad blood between the players and the organization, Rivers said he did not have a long sitdown talk with the players afterward to air grievances or mend fences.

"Not much at all, really," Rivers said. "Those guys are great. That's my point. Afterwards, we were all good and just moved forward. That's what I love about this team."

Check out more of Rivers' comments in the video above.

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