Though Leon Powe has mentioned multiple times that he would like to return to the Boston Celtics — and the C’s undoubtedly have a need for low-post threats — Powe’s agent said the Celtics are not interested in signing his client. (Boston Herald)

Though Leon Powe had expressed interest in a return to the Celtics, his first NBA team, the interest apparently isn’t mutual. The power forward likely will return to the team he finished last season with – the Grizzlies.

“I talked to (the Celtics) a while ago, but they’re not interested,” agent Aaron Goodwin said. “I think he’d like to go back to Memphis. He was able to get some minutes there.”

Bringing back Powe would have been largely a sentimental move. He’s not the same player who played in Boston during the 2008-09 season, or at least he wasn’t last year. But the C’s need bodies. With the expected acquisitions of Marquis Daniels and Keyon Dooling, Boston is at ten players to begin training camp today (not including the handful of training camp invites, Gilbert Brown among them). The next couple days might get crazy.

Leon Powe went to the L.A. Defenders’ NBA D-League game Monday night and told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin he is looking at two teams — the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies.

Considering they have nearly nothing to spend, the Celtics could probably do worse than Powe. Sure, he has played just 50 games since leaving the Celtics two full seasons ago. His knees are more beat up than Chris Brown’s ex-girlfriends. He scored in double figures exactly five times last year and averaged just 8.8 minutes per game in 16 games with the Grizzlies (he played 30 games overall last season, averaging 13.3 minutes for the Cavs). But the Celtics need to do their share of bargain shopping this offseason. And Powe, if he can get healthy (admittedly a ginormous if), could be a bargain.

Plus, this is LEON POWE, who scored 21 points against the Lakers in the glorious 2008 NBA Finals, after which Phil Jackson mispronounced his name “Pow” during a diatribe against the officials. Who played three minutes after tearing his ACL against Chicago in 2009. Whose father walked out on his family when Powe was just two years old. Whose mother battled drug addiction. Whose brother accidentally burned down the family’s house, after which the Powes became homeless, making more than 30 temporary stops during Leon’s childhood. Whose ACL tear in 2009 was supposed to end his career, but caused Doc Rivers to think this instead:

“To me, [Leon's return] will be a success story in a lot of ways, because a lot of people didn’t think he would ever play again,” Rivers told the Boston Globe.  “When he got hurt, I heard that the first time, I said people clearly don’t know who Leon Powe is. That kid will always be a success story.’’

None of the facts in the two prior paragraphs will help Leon Powe average a double-double next season. But the Celtics have seven roster spots to fill. Even if Powe isn’t healthy enough to make a major difference, I wouldn’t mind him on the sideline earning the veteran’s minimum. Call me sappy. Call me blinded by a sense of loyalty which still remains from Powe’s formative years in Boston. Call me a fool, if you insist. All signs say Leon Powe is a shell of his former self and, at this point, an 11th or 12th man. I know this. Yet I still have a soft spot in my heart.

It’s a shame Powe’s knees work as well as the VCR my family threw away seven years ago. Then again, if his knees were any more healthy, he’d probably be out of Boston’s price range. Ya know, just like every other worthwhile free agent.*

*Can you tell I’m bitter the Celtics have no money and the new CBA will likely allow them to use only the mini mid-level exception rather than the full one? I thought you could. When Vince Carter and Kwame Brown start to look appetizing, bitterness tends to set in.

Today’s NBA labor discussions weren’t completely without progress, as the two sides inched closer to a 50-50 revenue split, “give or take a point with ranges based on revenue performance,” according to a source cited in a Yahoo! Sports report.

As long expected, the two sides have moved closer to a “50-50 split, give or take a point with ranges based on revenue performance,” one source said.

While the league’s owners and players made progress in Wednesday’s 8½-hour mediation session, one source involved in the talks was hesitant to characterize it as a “breakthrough” moment, saying system issues could again derail talks. The two sides will resume mediation at 2 p.m. ET Thursday following the conclusion of the owners’ board of governors meetings. The owners are meeting to discuss a new revenue-sharing plan, and what type of proposal they present to the players on Thursday will determine whether the labor talks continue to gather momentum. …

Yet, it was always believed the two sides would eventually have to meet in the middle, and sources said there was momentum on Wednesday to get there.

“I think everyone is expecting miracles. It is still going to take some time even with a mediator,” one league executive said. “I don’t think Cohen has solved disputes in two days.”

Is 50-50 a fair deal? That’s for the two sides to decide. But it’s a revenue deal the sides are reportedly approaching, and if they want to agree, you certainly won’t find me standing in the way picketing.

Yet former Celtic Leon Powe made a lot of sense Wednesday night on his Twitter page, even if he did so without using proper grammar. If the players concede to a 50-50 split, that is more or less taking the entire brunt of the league’s losses and pinning it on the players. The league reported a loss of $300 million last season. A drop from 57% of BRI to 50% of BRI equates to the players shouldering $268.8 million of the owner’s losses, or 80.6% of the league’s losses, by my calculation. And that’s assuming the league actually lost as much as it said it did, despite reports of secondary ownership benefits like Cavs owner Dan Gilbert turning his Cavs ownership into two brand new casinos, which cast a shadow of doubt over the NBA’s balance sheets.

“We need a fair deal, we the players got to make up for everything, all of the lost. Which is not fair, if we got to miss the season, then ok,” Powe tweeted.

As usual, there are other blood issues. Adrian Wojnarowski said the biggest hurdle might be luxury tax proposals which the NBA wants to use to further discourage teams from overspending. The owners also want to limit Larry Bird rights and restrict teams over the cap from using the mid-level or bi-annual exceptions. And, they would like to take each player’s first-born child.

Leon Powe, who isn’t the same player you remember, is close to a Boston Celtics reunion, reports ESPN’s Marc Stein. He “fully expects” Powe back in Boston, and has been told Boston is “operating under belief it’s a done deal” though other teams — the Knicks and Grizzlies, to name two — have also expressed interest in the 6’8 power forward.

With three roster spots to fill (if Chris Johnson’s ten-day contract doesn’t get extended), Powe won’t be Boston’s only addition. One name linked to the Celtics repeatedly? Troy Murphy, the left-hander who couldn’t crack New Jersey’s rotation and still hasn’t played for a single playoff team in his entire career. The Boston Herald mentioned a few other names today. Hint: they won’t make you forget Kendrick Perkins.

According to sources, the Celtics are hoping the talk of Troy Murphy being available comes true. They are said to have interest also in Dan Gadzuric, Sasha Pavlovic and Jason Kapono.

Dan Gadzuric TOTALLY limits the blow of losing Perk. Same with Sasha Pavlovic, who has been named the single worst NBA player alive by at least one knowledgeable human. And Kapono? Well, he almost averages one point a game. Anybody else wonder why the C’s traded away Semih Erden’s roster spot, if Leon Powe and Dan Gadzuric are legitimate candidates to fill that spot? Doesn’t make sense, does it? Trusting Danny Ainge right now requires a major leap of faith.

Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy, playing a fun game of "Who's more intimidating?"

In a chat on ESPN today, Ric Bucher said, “I’ve been told Troy Murphy is headed [Boston's] way.” Bucher also called Danny Ainge “a Maverick,” which might be another term for “the second coming of Joe Dumars,” and said Ainge worked for “an owner who doesn’t have deep pockets,” which couldn’t be further from the truth.

What does the Troy Murphy trade do for me? Well, at least the Celtics won’t have to run KG, Glen Davis and Chris Johnson (!) into the ground anymore. Other than that, not much. He’s a softy power forward (not center, what the C’s really need right now) who loves the perimeter, couldn’t crack New Jersey’s rotation (even though Kris Humphries and Johan Petro could), doesn’t much enjoy defense, and has never — I repeat, never — played for a playoff team. At least he rebounds. You can’t entirely blame Murphy for his losing teams, but his stats (which are impressive, and include many double-doubles) don’t hold significant weight because he never compiled them while playing for a contender. How he’ll fit in Boston remains to be seen.

As for Leon Powe, who has been mentioned in many outlets as a candidate and is reportedly leaning toward Boston, well, he’s not the same player you remember. Sorry.

Though still shocked and stunned by the Celtics’ trade, the “Leon Powe might return” news at least brings a smile to my face.

Okay, no it doesn’t. Powe has stunk since he left the Celtics, and I’m pretty sure his knees are worse than Brandon Roy’s at this point. Even though I love Powe, I don’t see how he’d help the Celtics at all. But, hey? Who knows?! At least he’s interested in returning. (CSNNE)

While Powe is exploring all of his options as a free agent, he would be open to returning to the C’s.

“I’ll be happy wherever I end up, but Boston is always holding a special place in my heart,” Powe told CSNNE.com on Thursday evening. “The fans were so good to me, everybody up there was so nice, and it would be a great thing to return back to the Celtics if I could.”

David Aldridge believes Powe will end up in Boston, because “no one is [a] bigger fan than Doc Rivers.”

I repeat, I love Powe. I really do. One of my first Celtics pieces ever completely tore apart the C’s regime for letting Powe go after he got hurt. Just seemed like a truly heartless thing to do, and I hated that move for exposing the NBA’s cold business side. But if Powe doesn’t help the Celtics now — and he doesn’t, unless he still has all his old talents but two different Cleveland Cavaliers coaches just didn’t want them — it hardly lessens the blow of losing Perk.

Even if Powe IS entirely healthy and his knees somehow are made of something more than rubber at this point and he’s somehow ready to step right into Boston’s rotation, the Murphy/Powe tandem doesn’t exactly satisfy me. Because that still means Boston’s relying on the O’Neal brothers’ health to win a championship. A thought that doesn’t at all help me fall asleep at night.