NBA Trade Rumors: Boston Celtics actively looking to acquire major player at deadline

The Boston Celtics have been hot and cold on the trade front this year, with the team being rumored in big deals that never happen to being involved in efficient deals that do happen. After not acquiring Omer Asik earlier in the year the Celtics traded away guys like Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks while acquiring Joel Anthony, Jerryd Bayless and draft picks.

But Danny Ainge isn’t done yet and won’t go quietly into the deadline. According to Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe, the Celtics are looking to acquire a major player at the deadline and may be willing to go over the tax to get one.

"“We would go over the cap for the right deal,” Ainge said. “We’re not going to go over the cap just for the cap’s sake, just because we’re not a playoff team this year, most likely, unless we turn things around quickly. I think that it would not be prudent to be a tax-paying team this year. But if we needed to be a tax-paying team to make a certain acquisition, we certainly would. We have the support of ownership and I think we have the best ownership in basketball. And they would certainly be willing to spend the money. It’s not that; it’s just the competitive advantage to stay under the tax for future years and to allocate our money the best that we can.”"

It’s unclear who the Celtics are targeting, but they appear to be after something big. This big game hunting that Ainge seems to be doing last minute could involve trading away Rajon Rondo, or it could involve a sudden shift in the team’s tone at the halfway point of a respectable season.