It would be a dream within a dream within a dream, but the Boston Celtics are reportedly “looking very hard” at adding Tyson Chandler during free agency. (Red’s Army)

Earlier tonight on NBATV’s primetime show called “Gametime,” host Matt Winer reeled off a Top 5 list of questions to NBA reporter David Aldridge.  The 4th item on the list (in ascending order) asked about two free agents from the world champion Dallas Mavericks: Tyson Chandler and Caron Butler.

Without being prodded to name teams, Aldridge described how the Celtics don’t have many players signed (true), are in desperate need for a center (no offense, Jermaine) and that they are “looking very hard at Tyson Chandler.”

“I’d like to be pimps from Oakland or cowboys from Arizona but it’s not Halloween. Grow up Peter Pan, Count Chocula (and Danny Ainge).”

Tyson Chandler just won a championship as one of Dallas’ centerpieces. He shot 65.4% last year, plays great defense, and came within half a rebound of averaging a double double. He’s a team-changing center in a weak free agent market, which means he’s due for a big payday. The Celtics, barring some crazy and unforeseen event, have seven roster spots to fill and no money with which to fill them.

Long story short: Chandler to the Celtics would mean there is a god, but he calls himself Red Auerbach and still swindles opposing teams from the grave. Barring miracle or Auerbachian intervention, this isn’t happening.

Rajon Rondo is a two-time consecutive All-Star. He comes at the bargain price of $11 million per year, significantly less than market value for an All-NBA defender with the potential to lead the league in assists for the next six or seven years. He is presumably Boston’s future as well as its present, a curious amalgam of flaws and strengths unique within NBA history who will take the baton from the Big Three by next season, if he hasn’t officially done that already. But because of all that, he’s also Boston’s best trade bait.

Which is why the Celtics are not necessarily looking to trade Rondo, but they are reportedly open to the possibility if the right trade comes along. (ESPN)

While Boston is not shopping Rajon Rondo, it would be open to trading him in the right deal, sources say. The Celtics feel they need more scoring to take the load off Paul Pierce.

This makes sense. Rondo, for everything he contributes to Boston’s wins, has a set of flaws — mainly shooting, but also a sometimes-startling lack of consistency — that prohibit him  from being a truly elite point guard. In a trade market that should feature a dozen or so general managers actively trying to acquire Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Deron Williams, the Celtics would have the right ingredients to land one of those superduperstars… IF they package Rondo in the right deal, perhaps a sign-and-trade with Glen Davis or a package including one of Boston’s expiring contracts (note: I apologize profusely for referring to KG and Ray Allen as “expiring contracts”).

I have conflicting thoughts about trading Rondo (even in return for a superduperstar) for three reasons:

1) He improves from season to season like he spends the entire summer locked in a gym

and

2) I’m not sure whether I would rather have Chris Paul for $17 million or Rondo for $11 million. I might, but it’s not a no-brainer.

Being open to trading Rondo is the right move. I’m not saying they should trade him, or they should actively shop him, or that I’d be anything less than heartbroken if he were traded. But if Danny Ainge isn’t making or taking phone calls about every player on his roster, he’s not doing his job.

(h/t @MrTrpleDouble10)

As it turns out, the NBA’s new amnesty clause was designed for the poor to get (slightly) richer, or more specifically, for the dregs of the NBA to have an opportunity to sign Brandon Roy’s old knees, Baron Davis’ beard or Rashard Lewis’ decaying offensive repertoire before anyone else does.

Teams under the salary cap will have the first crack at signing any players released under the amnesty clause, which is highlighted in Sam Amick’s summary of the tentative labor deal.

Amnesty

• Each team permitted to waive 1 player prior to any season of the CBA (only for contracts in place at the inception of the CBA) and have 100% of the player’s salary removed from team salary for Cap and Tax purposes.
• Salary of amnestied players included for purposes of calculating players’agreed-upon share of BRI.
• A modified waiver process will be utilized for players waived pursuant to the Amnesty rule, under which teams with Room under the Cap can submit competing offers to assume some but not all of the player’s remaining contract. If a player’s contract is claimed in this manner, the remaining portion of the player’s salary will continue to be paid by the team that waived him.

Though it should preclude them from signing any worthwhile amnesty cuts, this development probably helps the Celtics. Why? Because though it’s unsure whether the Celtics are still desirable to veteran free agents looking to hitch their way to a ring, amnesty casualties certainly would have lined up to sign with Miami.

We can make fun of Rashard Lewis all day when he’s making $22 million per season to be an overpaid mannequin in Washington, but pay him the veteran’s minimum and line him up alongside Dwyane Wade and Lebron James, and suddenly the Heat have an extra weapon. Baron Davis is old, often heavier than he should be and tends to take some wild shots, but he’s certainly quite a bit more talented than Mike Bibby or Mario Chalmers. Brandon Roy is 27 years old with the knees of a recently deceased grandfather, but he could match James Jones’ production while sitting down (note: I’m still trying to pretend that Jones’ 25 points in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals never happened). Yet due to the amnesty rules, the possibility that any of those players lands in Miami is minuscule.

That helps the Celtics, who might not have been attractive to amnesty cuts anyway.

Don’t believe me? The Celtics are old, they were ousted by the Miami Heat in five games last postseason, and they are no longer among the upper echelon of favorites to emerge from the East. Entering the season, prior to learning how Danny Ainge fills out the periphery of his roster, the Celtics can reasonably be expected to finish third, at best, in the East, behind the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat. It’s possible for the Celtics to exceed those expectations, but all indicators — specifically, age and the way Boston bowed to Miami last season — suggest Boston is moving in the wrong direction, while Miami and Chicago are poised to improve with seasoning.

The amnesty rules probably don’t hurt Boston much. They do hurt Miami.

I like.

Glen Davis, despite his flaws, remains one of the better free agent big men.

That makes deciding what to do with Davis a difficult dilemma for the Boston Celtics — they need a big man (or three) desperately, but they also want to maintain cap space for 2012 without overspending on an undersized power forward/center known to clash with Doc Rivers and occasionally endure strange, prolonged spells of poor play. To further complicate matters, the new CBA limits how much money the depth-starved Celtics can spend, and re-signing Davis — even if he’s not a perfect option for now or the future — could be their best chance to improve.

Sean Deveney reports the Celtics want to execute a sign-and-trade with Davis, which makes sense. Depending on how wisely the Celtics maneuver, trading Davis could possibly bring Danny Ainge the best of both worlds. The C’s could package Davis for a veteran who preferably A) can contribute off the bench, and B) has one year remaining on his contract, thereby allowing the Celtics to contend (or come reasonably close to contending) in 2011-12 while also maximizing their future flexibility.

Davis is also looking into his own options. (Boston Herald)

Though Davis declined to specify where beyond the Celtics he might be looking, two league sources confirmed that his camp targeted New Jersey, Orlando, Denver, Atlanta, Detroit and possibly New Orleans.

Despite his reported interest in all those teams, Davis still says he would like to return to Boston. But in the same breath, he mentions he would like to start, which wouldn’t happen in Boston at least for one more year.

“Any player with a sense of growth wants to start,” he said. “If the opportunity is there to start for a team, then definitely I would want to do that. But if I have to be a sixth man again, I don’t mind. I’m just excited to see what will happen. The only way I can find out is to wait until Dec. 9.

“I hope I can return to Boston. It will be cool to go back, but if not, then I have to move on.”

The Celtics will be quite busy as soon as Dec. 9 hits. Making decisions on Davis and Jeff Green is a priority, and (at risk of sounding melodramatic) could go a long way toward shaping the Celtics’ present and future.

Though I assume he spent a number of hours this fall practicing his lion’s roar, every indication we have says that Kevin Garnett also stayed in good shape during the NBA lockout. Rajon Rondo noted multiple times that Garnett was keeping active, and that the Big Three would all be ready for a season if and when the season ever came.

Now, after a long boxing match between David Stern and Billy Hunter, which I wish had ended in a simultaneous knockout, we finally know when the season will come. If Garnett isn’t entirely ready for it now, he will likely be better prepared after next week, when he will “almost certainly” participate in a week-long boot camp run by noted trainer Joe Abunassar. (Hoops World)

Whether in shape or out of it, we do know that Joe Abunassar is going to hold a one-week boot camp at Impact Basketball in Las Vegas, Nevada next week, and that should help some veterans get themselves back into playing shape.

The program, which includes both intensive training sessions and 5-on-5 games, will be aimed at getting guys playing pro level ball with pro level trainers while they wait for the ratification of the new deal. Chauncey Billups and Kevin Garnett will almost certainly be there, while other Impact alumni like Tayshaun Prince, Baron Davis, and Corey Maggette may also show up, but regardless of speculation, we can expect a lot of NBA guys to make the trip.

We haven’t heard much from Garnett this offseason. He did not participate in any public lockout exhibition games, but that wasn’t unexpected. During offseasons, Boston’s ornery superstar normally stays hidden in a scarcely-populated lair, pounding his chest with one hand while simultaenously throwing pebbles at anyone who threatens to defeat him in Modern Warfare 3. Garnett is an intensely private person, emphasis on intensely, who likes to stay off the public radar and live a relatively normal lifestyle. He might have been working out like Rocky Balboa this summer, camped in some Russian cabin lifting logs over his head, but we would never know about it because Garnett sticks to the shadows whenever he can.

But he’s a professional. I imagine that Garnett stayed in great shape during the offseason, just like Rondo said he did. This week-long boot camp is probably just The Big Ticket’s next step to get ready for what might be his final NBA season. He’s probably been running along the beaches of Malibu at 5 a.m. each morning, dreaming of getting revenge against Chris Bosh, drop-kicking Charlie Villanueva and hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy over his head one more time. Anything is possible.

NBA training camps are set to begin on the same day as the free agency period, Dec. 9, leaving the Boston Celtics to open camp with just eight players — six returners and two rookies, assuming that E’Twaun Moore opts out of his Italian contract to return to the States.

Considering how barren Boston’s roster currently is, an eight-person opening practice will be the first of many lockout side effects to impact Boston’s preseason. Everything will be condensed — training camp, the free agency period and preseason (I assume). Danny Ainge will need to make quick decisions on whether to re-sign Jeff Green and/or Glen Davis. Boston’s GM will likely try to woo Delonte West back to Boston, could very well sign undrafted free agent Gilbert Brown (who was rumored as a possible Celtic before the lockout), and will need to add at least two bench big men, not to mention a host of embalming chemicals to slow down the pace of Jermaine O’Neal’s decomposition.

The NBA lockout means the offseason will be fast and furious. And if Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge suit up on day one, the Celtics might even be able to run five on five.