via Boston Globe:

The Celtics are going to announce the acquisition of veteran point guard Keyon Dooling from the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, the first day of training camp and trades can become official, according to a league source.

The deal is expected to include a second-round draft pick headed to Milwaukee and it gives the Celtics a veteran backup point guard behind Rajon Rondo, who remains a Celtic after Chris Paul was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers. The deal is somewhat complicated because the Celtics are over the salary cap.

I’m glad the Chris Paul trade was called off. Not just because the league’s (outrageously unpredictable and kooky) decision saved the world from eight consecutive LA-Miami NBA Finals, but also because we won’t view Keyon Dooling as a punchline anymore.

Now that Dooling is no longer a consolation prize Danny Ainge settled on after hunting down Paul with the ferocity of a tiger that hasn’t eaten in three weeks, we can see the acquisition for what it really is: a sneaky-good maneuver by Ainge.

Dooling will never be considered a superstar. He shot less than 40 percent during each of the last two seasons. He’s a decent three-point shooter (34.5 percent, a tick more than one make per game), but not a great one. He won’t light the world on fire with court vision, and nothing about his game makes basketball purists want to do break down and do the macarena. But here’s the catch:

Dooling led the Bucks in on-court/off-court differential last season. He led the New Jersey Nets in the same statistic the year before. If Jeff Green is an anti-gravitational force who looks talented while making his teams play worse whenever he steps on the court, Dooling is the opposite. The best guess for Dooling’s weird (and recent: the trend only dates back the last two seasons) tendency of improving his teams is that his defensive abilities are game-changing. Two seasons ago, New Jersey’s defense was 10.7 points per 100 possessions better when Dooling played. Last year, Milwaukee’s defense was 3.0 points better with Dooling on the court. He stops his own man, too: Dooling’s opponents had a well-below-average PER each of the past two seasons.

Danny Ainge needs to fill seven spots. He has no cash with which to do it. Dooling is a veteran who can contribute, and Ainge acquired him for a second-round pick. I’d say that’s a coup.

P.S. — Wait. The Celtics needed to upgrade their offense, not their defense? And Dooling shot 39.7 percent last season and 39.8 percent the season before? Doh.

P.P.S. — Spending a second-round pick to acquire a combo guard can’t be a good sign regarding Boston’s confidence in Avery Bradley. Maybe he should ask to stay at Doc’s house during training camp and be sure to do all the household chores this time around?

Despite earlier reports saying the Los Angeles Lakers were involved in three-team trade talks to bring Chris Paul to the West coast, A. Sherrod Blakely reports the Celtics might be Paul’s only realistic trade option remaining.

The Lakers are said to have backed off their pursuit, and the Golden St. Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers are reportedly uninterested in parting ways with the two players New Orleans desires most — Stephen Curry and Eric Gordon.

“It may not be what he wants, but going to Boston or staying in New Orleans may be his only options now,” said a league source from one of the teams that could emerge as a potential third team involved in the trade. “And of the two, I think it goes without saying, that playing for Danny (Ainge)  and Doc (Rivers) and those guys is the better choice of the two.”

If I had to guess right now, I’d say the Celtics have a 50 percent chance of landing Paul.

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.

Danny Ainge is actively trying to trade Rajon Rondo. No matter what Ainge said during his joint press conference with Doc Rivers, no matter how many times he carefully tried to avoid saying he was openly shopping Rondo, no matter what a Hornets source told Gary Washburn about Ainge not shopping Rondo, it’s becoming evident that the truth is otherwise.

Ainge is not actively trying to trade Rondo for just anyone. He is trying only to trade Rondo for Chris Paul, widely believed to be the NBA’s best point guard, or for Stephen Curry, who would then be swapped for Paul. The proposed end result of Ainge’s madness always ends with Paul in green and white, teaming with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen for at least one season of what-if, then re-signing (or not re-signing) with the Celtics when his free agency arrives at year’s end.

Ainge is willing to acquire Paul without any promise the All-Star will remain in Boston beyond 2011-12. Whether Ainge believes that strongly in his own persuasive powers — that he will be able to convince Paul (and maybe someone else, possibly named Dwight Howard) to become Boston’s future — or he simply believes Paul is the key to maximizing the Big Three’s NBA title chances in the coming season, Ainge would reportedly roll the dice without any assurances. Ainge is willing to trade Rondo, whose ridiculously-below-market-level contract expires after the 2013-14 season, for one season of Paul, one season to try to convince Paul to make Boston his permanent home. In other words, Ainge is willing to trade Boston’s lone building block for the future in exchange for what might amount to a one-year rental, but has the (however slight or strong) possibility to leave Boston with the world’s best point guard for the foreseeable future.

What we know for sure, or what we believe we know for sure based on what the world’s top NBA reporters can agree on, is surrounded by a layer of questions, all equally as perplexing as the next. Allow me to take a stab at answering some of them.

Why is Ainge pursuing Paul so aggressively?

I’ve thought about this question a lot and narrowed it down to two primary reasons: 1) Paul’s a better player, and 2) Ainge would make out with his mother if he felt it would improve the Boston Celtics. Ainge has come to the conclusion, right or wrong, that Paul’s talents outweigh Rondo’s and are worth risking the possibility of entering the 2012-13 season with only Paul Pierce and Avery Bradley under contract.

Would trading for Paul, then losing him to free agency, kill Boston’s immediate future?

Yes or no. But probably yes. If the Celtics enter the summer of 2012 with just Paul Pierce and Avery Bradley under contract, there’s no attraction for Dwight Howard. Nor would there be one for Deron Williams (unless the pair miraculously decided to join Boston together, despite the fact that no superstar free agent has ever signed in Boston). The second-tier unrestricted free agents in 2012 are Andrew Bynum (whose knees are made of Jermaine O’Neal), Tim Duncan (who will be approximately 84 years old), Steve Nash (who will be even older), Jason Kidd (who could be Duncan’s grandfather), Gerald Wallace and Jason Terry. All are decent players. None would make the Celtics’ future seem much less bleak.

Assuming that neither Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen retire after this season, the two would be free agents who the Celtics could presumably sign and give the Big Three yet another chance. But if you think the Big Three could contend as a nucleus in 2012-13, without Rajon Rondo, you probably need to wash the rust that’s accumulating on your brain. Basically, if the Celtics trade for Paul, it’s re-sign or bust.

Why is Boston’s offer for Paul considered second-rate?

I still don’t understand this. The Hornets reportedly value Stephen Curry more than Rondo. A package of Curry, Klay Thompson and Ekpe Udoh reportedly holds more value than a package of Rondo, Jeff Green and two first-round picks. Huh?

Rondo’s resume: two All-Star appearances, two-time All-Defensive First Team selection, one championship, the best playoff performer (by far) for a team that went to Game 7 of the NBA Finals, Boston’s best playoff performer for the past three seasons (marred only by his elbow injury this season), second in the NBA in assists last season (just 0.2 behind Nash), occasionally inconsistent production, tough hombre who normally rises to the occasion of big games

Curry’s resume: zero All-Star appearances, zero playoff appearances, a terrific shooter, average playmaker, candidate for Tim Kawakami’s annual All-NBA No-Defense Team (Kawakami, a Warriors beat reporter, should know as well as anyone) and someone whose presence actually made the miserable Golden State Warriors defense worse, albeit very slightly

Keep in mind, Rondo’s just two years older than Curry and already has NBA Finals experience. I realize Curry’s a better shooter and scorer. Far better, even. But considering how much more Rondo has accomplished in his career, understanding Rondo improves by miles every season and realizing that the Celtics’ reported deal is even sweetened by multiple draft picks, how is Golden St.’s package better than Boston’s? I’m confused. It just doesn’t make sense. Of course, for all I know, the rumors might have been leaked by a New Orleans front office executive looking to extract more talent from Danny Ainge’s pocket. Who knows?

I could do the same comparison using the Hornets’ reported infatuation with Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan. Am I crazy, or is Boston’s reported offer simply better than either of those teams’?

Why might any potential Chris Paul trade be controversial?

The NBA currently owns the Hornets. If Paul ends up in Boston or any other big market, conspiracy theorists will soon be shouting through megaphones, picketing with signs and throwing bricks through windows.

How will Rondo react to all the rumors?

Let’s pretend the Celtics don’t trade Rondo. At this point, it seems like the likely outcome. Ainge will try to explain the rumors by telling Rondo something to the effect of, “But at least we tried trading you for Chris Paul and only Chris Paul, not anyone lesser.”

But here’s the thing: Rondo considers himself the league’s best point guard and has for years. Trying to trade him for a player Ainge considers better isn’t just likely to hurt Rondo’s feelings. It also attacks Rondo’s supreme self-confidence, one of the pillars on which Rondo has built his career. That confidence won’t go away anytime soon. But his trust and appreciation for Ainge (and perhaps Doc Rivers) sure might. Rondo can be an emotionally fickle guy. These rumors, even if that’s all they amount to, won’t help.

The difference between the current Rondo trade rumors and the 2009 Rondo trade rumors is this: Then, the Celtics were shopping Rondo because he misbehaved too often. Now, they’re shopping him because they think they can acquire a better player. Should Paul be traded elsewhere, the effect of these trade rumors on Rondo might be far greater (and worse) than they were two years ago.

It’s reasonably safe to say the New Orleans Hornets will trade Chris Paul before this season. And by “reasonably safe,” I mean it’s okay to bet your car, house, first-born child, Dawson’s Creek limited edition DVDs,  14-year old Tamagotchi egg, Pogs collection and Jerome Moiso autograph.

Adrian Wojnarowski reports a number of teams believe the Hornets will make a deal by Friday, when training camp begins.

Three teams in pursuit of Paul believe the Hornets will push for final offers – and make a decision – by the start of training camp on Friday, front-office sources told Yahoo! Sports. The Clippers’ and Warriors’ packages are the most intriguing to New Orleans general manager Dell Demps, league sources said.

In two days, the Celtics could very well know which All-Star point guard they’ll begin the season with. Either way, they’ll enter a Christmas Day showdown against the New York Knicks in good hands.

The Boston Celtics are reportedly “uber-aggressive” in their pursuit of Chris Paul, but the Hornets are thought to be “lukewarm” on Boston’s offer, said to include some combination of Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, Jeff Green and/or two draft picks, plus-or-minus one of Boston’s two rookies. The Hornets, though, are reportedly interested in acquiring Glen Davis, and could be intrigued by a package highlighted by Davis and Rondo.

That opening paragraph is a maze. Just read on. (Boston Herald)

Glen Davis could end up playing a part in all this, no matter which way New Orleans goes. The C’s unrestricted free agent has received interest from the Hornets during the past couple of days as they try to put the right pieces around Paul that might make him want to stay (no doubt it will take more than the forward to sway Paul).

But if New Orleans decides there is no way it will be able to retain Paul, then Davis, a Louisiana native, could be a welcome component in a Celtics package that surely will be headlined by Rajon Rondo. And, according to a source, said package would have to contain more than those two players.

I don’t know what to think anymore. The Hornets want Stephen Curry more than Rajon Rondo. The Lakers are trying to acquire two of the NBA’s top six players without parting ways with Kobe Bryant. A trade package of Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan would reportedly be one of New Orleans’ top choices, and a package of Curry and Klay Thompson is another top choice, but a package including Rondo, Jeff Green and two first-round picks elicits a lukewarm response.

NBA rumor season: It’s nuttier than your craziest uncle, and twice as unpredictable.