Ainge’s asking price for the Core Four SHOULD be really high. Even if the Celtics play out the season as is, they are in good position to build for the future, with Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and oodles of cap space. Forcing a trade that doesn’t make sense is counterproductive to Boston’s future, which — considering that (sorry) they aren’t title contenders this year — should be the only object in Ainge’s vision.

For whatever it’s worth, Doc Rivers suggested again today during an interview on WEEI that the Celtics could very well abstain from major moves at the trade deadline.

“I don’t expect anything big to come down. I would be shocked if nothing came down, to be honest. … There’s a lot of ways to make a trade at the deadline. Sometimes just to give your team hope, sometimes when you don’t make a trade, it tells your team we’re not doing anything and this is the way we think this team is good enough to win. So it’s just, sometimes trades are aesthetic and sometimes they’re meant for other reasons, and I think there’s a lot of ways to use it.”