If the Boston Celtics find a way to sign-and-trade for Jason Terry, they’ll likely have to include at least one of their young assets. (Boston Globe)

There is little chance the Celtics can work out a sign-and-trade with the Mavericks for Jason Terry unless the Celtics are willing to part with a combination of young assets such as JaJuan Johnson, Moore, or perhaps Mickael Pietrus or Keyon Dooling. The Celtics would love to facilitate a sign-and-trade to free up their mid-level exception to sign shooting guard Courtney Lee.

I have an unwarranted and over-the-top platonic love affair with E’Twaun Moore, but if the Celtics decide not to acquire Jason Terry via sign-and-trade (aka open their mid-level exception for someone else) on account of either of their Purdue Boilermakers, I’ll buy a pitbull just so I can train it to target Danny Ainge.

That said, two things make executing a sign-and-trade with Dallas and/or Houston quite difficult:

1) Boston doesn’t have very many assets. When Pietrus, Dooling, Moore and Johnson are your best trade chips, you remind me of a Lloyd Banks song: Chips Are Down. The Cs could also sweeten the pot with a draft pick or two, but still.

2) Dallas and Houston are both in “maintain cap flexibility at any cost” mode. The Mavericks declined an opportunity to keep Terry because they wanted more cap space. Now the Celtics need them to want to pay money to Mickael Pietrus. The Rockets just amnestied Luis Scola, a warrior who had been their backbone and still seems to have plenty of good basketball left. Now the Celtics need them to fork over some cash to acquire Keyon Dooling.

The Celtics have a few non-guaranteed contracts to offer (Moore, Kris Joseph, Sean Williams) which could be traded and then cut, allowing the Mavericks/Rockets to maintain some of their cap space. But those contracts wouldn’t be nearly enough to make a sign-and-trade for Terry or Courtney Lee work. The Celtics would need to include Dooling or Pietrus, or maybe they could talk the Mavs or Rockets into Greg Stiemsma.

3) If the Celtics DO find a taker for Dooling, Pietrus and/or Stiemsma, and the trade works, those guys would STILL need to give their blessings to the deal because they’re all free agents.

Do you see why this is unlikely? And why Ainge would be a genius if he somehow manages to pull it off?

Okay, cool. Glad we agree.