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Josh Smith, Al Jefferson, Eric Bledsoe Staying Put Among NBA Trade Deadline’s Many Surprises (Podcast)

The NBA trade deadline came and went on Thursday, and while a few noteworthy players changed sides, the most intriguing developments of the day may have been the moves that were not made.

Hawks forward Josh Smith, Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe, Jazz big men Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap and numerous other players whose names came up in multiple trade rumors in the lead-up to the deadline surprisingly stayed put. Blockbuster deals involving Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett or Rajon Rondo never came to pass, with many of the bigger deals consisting of solid but unspectacular players like J.J. Redick and Ronnie Brewer.

After weeks of striking down reports that Garnett, Rondo and even Paul Pierce were on the trading block, the Celtics held true to their word and did not make a major shakeup. They did make a minor deal, adding guard Jordan Crawford from Washington in exchange for a couple of expiring deals, but the team’s three All-Stars will finish out the season as Celtics.

NESN.com’s Doug Kyed sat down with Ben Watanabe to talk about deadline day, which featured some interesting developments despite the lack of a star-studded trade.

Listen in the player below or subscribe on iTunes to download it there.