Sheed arguing with a ref? Must be photo-shopped.

Update: Maybe not.

Just wanted to post this for all those “Sheed’s still coming back!” kind of guys. You know, you guys who will read this and STILL think Sheed’s coming back, even though the Shaq signing basically told us all, “Hey, Sheed’s not coming back. And because of that, we needed another big guy.” (Boston Herald)

Forget this recent talk about a Sheed un-retirement. He’s done. He’s simply doing the Celtics a favor by holding off until (if?) they can find a taker for his $6 million slot between now and late October.

He’s done. So now we’ve got to focus on trading his contract for something realistic. Come to me with some more ideas, people. I suck at the trade machine, mostly because I keep trying to find absurd steals and never think to myself, “Well, maybe Andres Nocioni for Sheed straight-up would actually help the Celtics out.”

P.S. – Thanks for the playoffs, Sheed. When push came to shove, you earned your stripes.

For a while, there was talk that Boston might send Ray Allen to Sacramento as part of a package to include Kevin Martin and perhaps Andres Nocioni.  According to the Boston Herald, Boston no longer has interest.  CSNNE’s A. Sherrod Blakely chimes in that Martin isn’t likely to be moved at all. 

The Celtics DO have interest in Kirk Hinrich, but the Herald says the sides are not close. 

A league source said any interest the Celtics had in Sacramento forward Kevin Martin expired. A second source said while the C’s have continued interest in Chicago’s Kirk Hinrich, the sides aren’t close.

A. Sherrod Blakely:

Doc Rivers and Kevin Martin chatted briefly a couple minutes ago. Easy Celtic Nation. The ‘other’ K-Mart isn’t likely to leave Sac-town.

Martin seemed like one of the most realistic deals for Boston to revamp its nucleus.  He would have allowed Boston to play a very similar offense to its current one while providing the Celtics with youth and perhaps a shot of adrenaline.

I wasn’t sold on the inclusion of Nocioni, though, so I’m pretty happy the deal probably won’t go through.  Nocioni is on the books to make $7 million for the next two seasons, with a team option for a third after that.

The Celtics have gotten rid of their morning walkthrough, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Here are a few Celtics links, and maybe even an NBA link or two, to help wake you up and get you focused for the day.

Kevin Martin looks excited for the opportunity to play for the Celtics... but it would be tough to work out a deal.

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “This season, motivation … and focus … and discipline … and defense … and (you get the picture) … have all been difficult to come by consistently. There have been injuries galore. There’s been talk about different players having different agendas. There have been more head-scratching defeats this year than the previous two years combined. Despite all those issues, the Celtics still believe in their heart of hearts, that they can win it all. ‘Without a doubt,’ said big man Rasheed Wallace. ‘If you’re not hungry to win a championship, what are you playing for?’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “The irony is that the Celtics are a defensive team, the best in the league, in fact. Boston has held opponents to an NBA-best 93.7 points per game this season. But recently a disturbing pattern of allowing the opposition one big offensive quarter has emerged, most notably when the Magic outscored Boston 36-11 in the third quarter of Orlando’s 96-89 victory Sunday at the TD Garden. In each of their previous four games, the Celtics gave up a 28-point quarter or worse, including a 30-point second quarter against the Nets, a 28-point fourth quarter against the Heat, a 31-point second quarter against the Wizards and a 30-point first quarter against the Lakers.”

Jim Fenton, MetroWest Daily News – “They were serenaded with some boos by the crowd at the TD Garden on Sunday afternoon, a rare occurrence in recent seasons. At least the struggling Boston Celtics won’t have to worry about that happening again for a couple of weeks. Beginning tonight, the Celtics play five straight games away from Causeway Street, taking their disappointing act on the road with one game before the NBA All-Star break and four more to follow. With 33 games remaining in the regular season, the Celtics are in desperate need of a jump start, and the latest challenge will be taking place with road games against some quality teams.”

Have a link I might want to look at? Send it my way by email (jayking@celticstown.com) or Twitter.