Eddie House isn't officially a Knick... yet. (Photo by Bill Frakes)

The Eddie House-for-Nate Robinson swap that has been rumored for days still isn’t a done deal, according to the Boston Herald. 

“I wouldn’t say it’s a done deal, but there’s a pretty good chance it’s going through,” said House’s agent, Mark Bartelstein.

A Celtics source said last night that talks would resume today.

For now, it all looks like the wait is for no other reason than to put the finishing touches on the deal.  Nate Robinson missed last night’s game with “flu-like symptoms”, but his locker has already been cleared out and there has been speculation to whether he’s already on a flight to L.A.

But the fact remains that the deal isn’t done and the talks might continue right through today’s deadline.  The Celtics are still considering trading Ray Allen or making at least one other trade besides Nate Robinson.

Via the Herald again:

And as in most businesses, negotiations can take longer than planned.

A Celtics source said yesterday there was a good chance that talks could stretch right up to today’s trade deadline. The Celtics also hadn’t closed the door on trading Ray Allen in a much bigger trade, though the source characterized the Celtics as reluctant to make such a deal.

The possibility also remains that the Celtics could make more than one trade before today’s deadline.

If the C’s ever do finalize this deal, which seems almost 100% likely, they might involve the Kings as a third team in the trade.  The two names almost certain to be involved in the deal are Eddie House and J.R. Giddens.  But don’t expect Kevin Martin to be part of the deal.  He’s already been traded away to Houston in a massive blockbuster including Tracy McGrady.

The Houston Rockets have reached an agreement in principle to acquire Kevin Martin from the Sacramento Kings, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The proposed deal has the Rockets sending Tracy McGrady, Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey to the Kings for Martin, Sergio Rodriguez, Hilton Armstrong and Kenny Thomas.

Two league sources tell Y! Sports the Kings are unsure whether they will keep McGrady or expand the trade to three teams and send him to the New York Knicks.

Despite the possibility that Nate Robinson will provide a spark to his slumping ballclub, Doc Rivers seems shook that the Celtics might be losing a core player from the championship year.

“I told him what was going on,’’ said Rivers. “I was honest with him. I did tell him if he didn’t want to practice, that’s fine.

“It’s easy for me to move guys around the exterior of our core. It’s very difficult for me to ever even think about touching anybody in our core. So if we do this, that in my opinion is what we’d be doing, and for me that’s a tough thing to do. But that’s life in the NBA.’’

“I also told him nothing’s done, and nothing is done. Eddie’s a part of our core, and he’ll always be part of that.”

If Doc feels that way about trading Eddie House, how’s he going to feel if Ray Allen gets traded?  Life in the NBA can be rough.

Keep checking the site throughout the day.  We’ll have plenty of updates coming your way, I’m sure.

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.

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “For years, Rasheed Wallace has saved his best play until after the All-Star break. This season appears to be no exception, as Wallace delivered at both ends of the floor Tuesday night to help Boston escape with a 95-92 win over the Sacramento Kings. ‘It’s money time,’ said Wallace, who led all reserves with 17 points. ‘Coming down to that crunch time. First half of the season, on some teams you got some guys that want to make the All-Star team, guys putting up shots freely. But that second half of the season, when shots are big, people depending on those shots to be made, a lot of guys don’t want to take them. They’ll let the, quote-unquote, star players take them. That’s nut-crunching time. That’s the time I like.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “The Celtics still aren’t quite over their second-half suicidal tendencies, but for one night at least, their flaws weren’t fatal. They shot just 37.5 percent and again gave up a fourth-quarter lead, but some clutch work at the line and a bit of luck were enough to get a 95-52 victory against Sacramento last night. ‘It wasn’t our best game, but we’re improving, man,’ said Kevin Garnett, who had nine points and nine rebounds. ‘It’s very encouraging, something to build off of. That’s what’s most important. We got the win.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “The Celtics were sloppy on defense, playing the kind of game the Kings (averaging 102 points a night) live for, until Boston’s second unit buckled down. The Celtics led, 39-37, when Wallace barked at the second unit, ‘Let’s get stops. Let’s build this lead.’ Wallace swatted one shot. Glen Davis batted away another. The Celtics forced clangs on the Kings next three shots and opened up a 44-39 lead. Tony Allen smacked away a Kevin Martin layup for good measure. ‘For a minute it was back and forth, you know, we score then they score,’ Wallace said. “It’s just playing basic basketball. We had to get some stops. We had to put a string of stops together and a string of buckets together and just build the lead up.’”

Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston – “‘It’s a win,’ said Rivers, seeming to acknowledge that beggars can’t be choosers. ‘I don’t know what tone it’s going to set, but we get a win and now we have to move to the next game. That’s our approach over the next 31 games. We’re not looking ahead, we’re not sending messages, we’re just trying to win this game, get better, then focus on the next game. The whole trip, we’re just looking at the next game. That’s how we have to do it.’”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “The guard [Ray Allen] certainly would be professional about it if he does get dealt, but it would hurt him to leave the Celtics. ‘We won a championship together,’ Allen said. ‘This team is, by most accounts, still one of the better teams in the league. When we’re right, we’re one of the favorites. We still have a great shot. I just hope we win the next game (last night’s contest with the Sacramento Kings) and catch fire and keep pushing forward. The rest of the stuff is out of my control.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “[Ray Allen's] tears are dry now. He understands that players are uprooted, teams move on, and players must adapt. ‘[In 2003] I was oblivious to what was happening, but now I understand a lot more what goes on based on having an expiring contract,’’ he said yesterday morning at Arco Arena before the Celtics faced the Kings to begin the second half of the season. “It’s part of it. For individual players, you have to be able to take advantage of the [luxuries] that you get. The money you make. The contracts you make. Traveling to the places that you travel to. That’s what this game has given all of us, but you know [trades are] the setbacks.You are part of a system that has been in place before we came along and while we’re here, we’re here to take advantage of it. And hopefully we leave it in a better place. You know the rules and you just deal with them.’”

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

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 All-Star break was great. A chance to forget about the blown halftime leads. A few days to escape the harsh reality of missed opportunities and lost games. Paul Pierce won the Three-Point Shootout. Rajon Rondo suddenly couldn’t miss from three-point range. Injury troubles were nil. Not even the worst dunk contest in the country’s history could make things seem bad. For a few days, the troubles of an under-performing team were put on hold.

But vacations don’t last forever. Breaks come to an end. And the troubles remain, as do the questions surrounding the aging and struggling Celtics. Read more »

I await the latest news like Dennis Rodman used to prowl missed shots. I refresh HoopsHype at least 20 times a day. I’m aware of my addiction.

But it’s trade season, and the Boston Celtics oh-so-desperately need to make a move. Until February 18 or a big Celtics trade — whichever comes first — my addiction will persist. Read more »

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.