Danny Ainge would not say Monday if the Boston Celtics were done making deals, but for now, at least, the team might be forced to take a trade hiatus.
That’s because Brandon Bass, the veteran forward who seems like a natural to be the next to go in the Celtics’ garage sale, “has yet to attract any serious offers,” Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald reports, citing sources. Ainge, the Celtics’ president of basketball operations, has found “some interest” in Bass from other teams, Bulpett writes, but not enough to motivate Ainge to make a deal.
Even though the Celtics have dealt Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green in the last five weeks for a collection of draft picks, role players and expiring contracts, Ainge contends the Celtics received valuable assets in all those deals. As such, he won’t trade away Bass for nothing.
“I just felt like it was a timeline thing, the players that we had, the uncertainty of the future and free agency,” Ainge told reporters at TD Garden before the Celtics’ 108-100 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. “And I felt like we were getting good value in return based on the contract situation.”
Bass, 29, has been in and out of the rotation this season despite performing solidly, particularly on the defensive end. He is making $6.9 million this season in the final campaign of the three-year, $19 million contract he signed in a very different environment in 2012.
Thumbnail photo via Trevor Ruszkowski/USA TODAY Sports Images
