Can Danny?

Danny Ainge offered the house for Pau Gasol. And odds are, he'll have to give up the house to get the young Spaniard. While the thought of adding Pau is great, the reality is that there are some very long odds against it. Unless we find a third team interested in getting involved, the package that we have to offer probably won't be enough to steal away Gasol.

This highlights a problem with our "asset" strategy: other teams have assets as well and probably won't be gung-ho about trading a star for more guys that might or might not pan out. In this case, the Grizzlies have Kyle Lowry, Rudy Gay, Hakim Warrick, Alexander Johnson, and Lawrence Roberts. If they are trading Gasol, they'll likely want a blue-chipper who can be the star to lead these guys. What they would likely shy away from is adding more middling young talent and essentially becoming Boston South. While our young talent might be a bit better than the Grizz's, the difference is not enough for them to give up their only star player. The Grizz would probably push for, at least, Jefferson, Green, West, the unprotected 2007 pick and Theo Ratliff, the remainder of whose salary the Celtics would have to pay. The last part might be what ruins the deal as I can't see Wyc agreeing to once again pay for someone who doesn't play for the C's.

Like the Boozer and Iverson rumors, this deal is going to be a lot of hype, some false hope, but it ain't happening.