Despite being limited to veteran’s minimum offers, the Boston Celtics are reportedly still involved in discussions with free agent rebounder Reggie Evans. (Boston Globe)

The Celtics remain in the running for free-agent forward Reggie Evans but they only have the veteran minimum to offer. Evans is seeking a multiyear deal.

I hate being realistic, but the veteran’s minimum probably won’t be enough to lure Evans to Boston. In fact, after Kwame Brown signed for $7 million yesterday to establish the market, the Celtics are going to be hard-pressed to find any big man using just the veteran’s minimum.

In the most likely scenario, Kevin Garnett will play more center than ever before, Brandon Bass and Chris Wilcox will slide into the pivot position every once in a while and Jermaine O’Neal will man the middle whenever he’s physically able to play (don’t hold your breath). Greg Stiemsma, a D-League center participating in training camp with a partially guaranteed deal, also has a legitimate shot to make the team. I don’t know much about him, but he’s a 6-foot-11, 260-pound banger with limited offensive acumen and a D-League Defensive Player of the Year Award in his back pocket.

The following sentence written about Stiemsma is pretty promising: “Who wants to drive the lane to meet a behemoth like him when they could instead hang out on the perimeter?”

But this description is not: “Nothing but a shot blocker. Not even a good rebounder, really.”

You know the old saying: Shoot for the moon, because even if you miss you’ll still land among Reggie Evans.

Evans isn’t phenomenal. He probably wouldn’t lead your local YMCA rec league in scoring average. But he does one thing better than almost everybody else in the world, and that one thing happens to be one of Boston’s biggest weaknesses from last season: rebounding. He’s not David West, but he’d help if he’s willing to accept the mini mid-level.

P.S. — If you are an available power forward, chances are that Danny Ainge is staking out your house and calling your agent 782 times per day.

The Boston Celtics have reportedly “relentlessly pursued” Chris Paul, exploring eight different scenarios that would bring Paul to Boston, including several possibilities that include a third team to sweeten the package.

Considering that Stephen Curry and Eric Gordon, two New Orleans Hornets favorites, are expected to be off limits, Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski is now saying what I’ve thought all along: The Celtics current offer “could be the most attractive to the Hornets.”

ESPN’s Marc Stein and Chris Broussard also believe the Celtics are at or near the lead for Paul:

It has been evident since Monday that the Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers are New Orleans’ preferred trade partners, but one source close to the process told ESPN.com that talks between Golden State and New Orleans have gone “dormant” because of the Warriors’ refusal to make Curry part of the deal without an assurance from Paul that he will stay beyond this season as opposed to bolting as a free agent in July 2012. Clippers guard Eric Gordon is the other player New Orleans covets in a Paul deal on par with Curry, but L.A. has likewise insisted all week that Gordon is a “deal breaker,” as one source put it.

Various executives believe that the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are thus the two most likely landing spots for Paul, but sources with knowledge of New Orleans’ thinking said late Wednesday that the Hornets are prepared to wait for offers to improve, convinced that they they’re getting low-ball proposals at this early stage of the process based on the external belief that they’re so motivated to move Paul they will rush into a deal.

The Celtics, sources say, are currently presenting the strongest offer, which featuresRajon Rondo, Jeff Green and two first-round picks. As the Paul pursuer most willing to trade for the All-Star point guard with zero assurance that Paul will stay beyond this season, Boston is also trying to concoct multi-team scenarios that would help the Hornets come away with the package they desire for Paul, featuring at least one established veteran to help them stay relevant, one up-and-coming talent and draft picks.

The Hornets’ interest in Rondo is lukewarm at best, but one scenario in circulation would involve the Indiana Pacers and route former Hornets point guard Darren Collison back to New Orleans and land Rondo with the Pacers and Paul with the Celtics. Yet several other players would have to be involved to make such a deal work — with more established talent going to New Orleans — and there was no indication Wednesday that such a deal was close to completion.

Although sources say Paul continues to express no interest in a long-term stay in Boston, Celtics GM Danny Ainge is apparently convinced that trading for Paul now to try to make one more title run with the aging star trio of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett andRay Allen is a no-brainer gamble. With the contracts of Garnett and Allen expiring at season’s end, Boston would have sufficient salary-cap space to not only try to retain Paul but also pursue a second young superstar to play with him.

In case you’re scoring at home: The Hornets are now believed to want Stephen Curry, Eric Gordon and/or Darren Collison in return for Paul, but they are “lukewarm” about the prospect of adding a 25-year old, two-time All-Star who has made the NBA’s All-Defensive First-Team each of the past two seasons, already won one championship, has been the Celtics’ best player in each of the past three postseasons, and tends to raise his play during big games.

At this point, I think it’s entirely possible the Hornets are leaking false rumors to entice Danny Ainge to sweeten Boston’s offer. At the very least, the Hornets’ reported lack of respect for Rondo is curious.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Thaddeus Young has landed himself on the Boston Celtics’ wish list, according to Yahoo! Sports, despite the fact that he’s miles out of Boston’s pay range.

Philadelphia 76ers free-agent forward Thaddeus Young is still hopeful of re-signing with the team if he receives a fair offer. Young has a strong relationship with Sixers coach Doug Collins. The Celtics and Denver Nuggets are also interested in Young.

Acquiring Young would certainly have to come via a trade, since he’s a restricted free agent destined to earn far more than the $3 million Boston will be able to offer. Perhaps a sign-and-trade centering around Glen Davis, who’s reportedly being dangled as bait, would work. But if Davis couldn’t get along with Doc Rivers, methinks he’d have some real difficulty playing for Doug Collins, who’s almost as demanding as a Nike sweatshop manager (just on a “slightly” different scale). Same goes for Boston’s other sign-and-trade candidate, Jeff Green, whose defensive habits and rebounding technique would be unlikely to earn Collins’ favor.

A deal for Young seems unlikely. But stranger things have happened, I suppose.

After Marquis Daniels laid onthe court motionless Feb. 6 against the Orlando Magic and ultimately underwent surgery to his spinal cord, it’s unbelievable that he will return to an NBA basketball court at all. And he’ll almost certainly do so with the Boston Celtics. (Boston Globe)

Dunleavy’s an unrestricted free agent who averaged 11.2 points and 4.6 rebounds last season for the Indiana Pacers, visiting the playoffs — if you can believe it — for the first time since being drafted in 2002. Thus ended a playoff drought of Troy Murphian proportions.

I like Dunleavy. He can score. He can shoot (40.2 percent on triples last year). He’s relatively versatile. He’s from Duke. And he was once featured on Deadspin for wearing a tu-tu, which is actually a lot cooler than it sounds because I’m 99.999 percent positive he was just dressing up as Ace Ventura when Ventura pretended to be a mental hospital patient in order to snoop for clues regarding Ray Finkle. Who is Einhorn. Who is also Finkle. Who is also Einhorn. Who is both a man and a woman. Which only makes sense if you’ve seen the movie. Laces out, Dan.

I could discuss the merits of an Ace Ventura costume all day, but anyone willing to dress in a tu-tu in the name of comedy is okay with me. Especially if he averaged double figures last season for a playoff team and could potentially command a relatively cheap salary.