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 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.

Chris Paul isn’t just reportedly demanding a trade to New York (a report he and two league sources denied, for what it’s worth). He’s also reportedly reaching out to Dwight Howard in hopes that he and Howard can team together.

Would you like anything else, Chris? A rocket ship, perhaps? A date with Jessica Biel and Megan Fox, both at the same time? A parakeet that can fetch your coffee in the morning? (Yahoo! Sports)

Paul has reached out to Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard recently, encouraging Howard to find a way for the two to play together, sources told Yahoo! Sports. That would be a difficult scenario for the Knicks to make happen. Paul’s desire to join the Knicks was cemented after he spent so much time in New York over the summer with close friend Carmelo Anthony.

If Paul were to opt out of the final year of his contract and become a free agent after this season, he could sign a maximum four-year, $74 million deal with another team. The Knicks currently would have enough salary-cap room to offer him a four-year, $55.5 million contract with a starting salary of $13 million.

I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again. Ainge is planning his second coup of the past five years. He wants to reload on the fly, and he’s shooting to add both Chris Paul and Dwight Howard to the Boston lineup.

If Paul wants to play in New York and only New York, the Celtics are (obviously) screwed. But if he’s also open to teaming with Dwight Howard somewhere, there are two teams I immediately think of with the assets, management, financial flexibility and major market to entice the tandem: Boston and Los Angeles.

It’s still a pipe dream. A ridiculous, why-even-bother-thinking-about-it improbability. But Ainge has done it before.

My girlfriend noticed it first, because I normally don’t spend much time examining Doc Rivers’ face — Doc had two massive bags under his eyes, which extended almost to the bottom of his nose. I’m very imperceptive when it comes to Doc’s looks, so maybe he always has the bags. In my mind, though, I imagined Doc pulling all-nighters the past few days, wondering how to get his team on track, searching for any way to motivate his troops, pouring over game tape and his own mental notes for the answers.

Because Doc knows. He knows how much Boston needed tonight’s win. He knows his team needs to get back on track, and quickly. He knows Boston needs the first seed, not just for home-court advantage but also to avoid the Miami/Chicago winner until the Eastern Conference finals. The Celtics would never say it publicly, of course, but they’re terrified of losing the top seed. They have nightmares of the Bulls, and maybe the Heat too.

How do I know this? Because Rajon Rondo continues to play, despite a myriad of injuries that have caused his player rating to drop off the table. Because only eight Celtics played tonight, even though Carlos Arroyo and Troy Murphy could certainly use extra time to get acclimated to a new system. Because Doc called a timeout 1:15 into the second half, to demand better effort. Because Doc could be seen fist-pumping after a Glen Davis bucket, as if the Celtics had just won the NBA Finals — and Davis’ bucket was in the third quarter.

I can’t overstate the impact Davis had on tonight’s game — actually, I probably could, and maybe I even will. But he was phenomenal, in ways his terrific box score line could not begin to describe. Sadly, I don’t spend nearly enough time lauding Davis’ defense. Once a question mark on the gritty side of the court (and maybe even a question mark-explanation point-question mark — like this: ?!?), Davis now disrupts everything the other team attempts to do. He takes charges, and many of them. But he also makes contributions in ways that are far less noticeable. A quick rotation to David West to force an extra pass. A strong closeout when Chris Paul got an otherwise open three-pointer. A number of deflected passes. After one timeout, Davis could be seen roaring at the away crowd. But he didn’t need to bring any attention to his play; it spoke volumes for itself.

Davis and his bench buddies Delonte West and Jeff Green led a comeback victory on a night the Celtics seemed destined for their fifth loss in seven games. On a night when Marco Belinelli drank whatever Jimmer’s having. On a night when Rondo was once again pedestrian (to be kind), Paul Pierce made one measly shot, and Nenad Krstic scored as many points as the couch on which I’m currently seated. On a night when the Celtics trailed by fifteen points early in the third quarter, and (at that point) arguably looked even worse than they had last night against the Rockets.

I look back to one play as the turning point, though I could point out many other key moments. Nine minutes remained in the third quarter, and the Celtics trailed by fourteen points. A Celtic dove to the floor (I think it was Paul Pierce, but I could be wrong), and the Celtics called timeout to save possession. Being that there was only one second remaining on the shot clock, I cursed the decision. Why waste a timeout, when one second is hardly enough to score anyway? (I may or may not have added and F-bomb or two, while screaming at my TV.) Of course, I forgot Ray Allen, or, perhaps a better description, I forgot that New Orleans might (somehow) forget about Ray Allen. Allen came off a screen, caught the inbounds pass, pivoted and fired a long bomb. Swish. The Celtics’ comeback was underway, and a sure loss would later turn into a necessary win.

Was it really necessary? Yes, as necessary as mid-March games get for a team that has already clinched a playoff berth. For psyche, seeding, and general peace of mind (and so I can have at least one good night’s sleep), the Celtics needed tonight’s win. Just ask the puffy, obtrusive bags underneath Doc’s eyes.

(You know, unless I’m a moron and he always looks like that.)

Shaq continues to say all the right things. He’s in Boston because he wants to win. He doesn’t mind being a complementary player. He has no more ego. He’s willing to do whatever Doc Rivers asks of him. He wants to sacrifice his game because he wants at least one more championship, and maybe two.

Then why the hell did he consider signing with the Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Hornets? (New Orleans Times Picayune)

Before the Celtics made their offer, O’Neal was interested in joining the Atlanta Hawks. But the Hawks weren’t willing to extend him a contract in the $8 million range that O’Neal wanted.

O’Neal said Friday he was interested in joining the New Orleans Hornets, and discussions took place when Jeff Bower was the general manager.

“It didn’t work out, ” O’Neal said.

I’m no genius or anything, but if I was simply trying to win another championship I wouldn’t be demanding $8 million from the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks are a good team, but they aren’t contenders. What they DID offer Shaq, though, was an opportunity to get paid and play a lot of minutes. I’m sure that’s why Shaq was interested in going to the ATL.

And the Hornets? The Hornets??? If winning was really the only thing on his mind, Shaq would have laughed in Jeff Bower’s face when the two spoke. But Shaq was actually interested.

Look, I’m not saying that Shaq will be a problem. I’m not saying he still has an ego. I’m not saying that he’ll act up and destroy team chemistry. I’m not saying Doc should fear a Sprewell or even a Manny Ramirez. I actually don’t think Shaq will be or do any of those things. From a chemistry standpoint, Shaq wasn’t a problem at all last season in Cleveland.

Just don’t think Boston was Shaq’s number one choice all along. It wasn’t. It was his fallback plan when he realized he couldn’t earn the money and minutes he wanted elsewhere.

Forgive this piece, before you even read it. This isn’t a real rumor, nor is it even a fake rumor. It’s simply a what-if scenario J.A. Adande offered up on TrueHoop. And a scary what-if scenario, at that.

It’s not that hard to envision a scenario that brings Paul to the Lakers. It starts with Jackson retiring, a move he said he is “leaning toward.” Then bring in Byron Scott to replace him, as has long been rumored. Out goes the triangle offense, which probably wouldn’t suit Paul. In comes Paul, who maintained a good relationship with Scott even after Scott was fired by the Hornets. (That’s more than could be said with Scott’s previous two point guards, Baron Davis and Jason Kidd.) Meanwhile, Scott and Kobe Bryant go way back to Kobe’s rookie year, when they were teammates, so that would work, too.

Why would any of this work for the Hornets? They need to shed salary, with the four years and $52 million remaining on Emeka Okafor’s contract sticking out on their spreadsheet like a nun on Bourbon Street. The best way to entice a team to take on that contract would be to include Paul in the deal, painful though it may be for the Hornets. Besides, if they really like Paul and want to repay him for everything he’s done for that franchise and the New Orleans community they’ll give him a chance to play for a championship contender.

They could send Paul (owed $14.9 million in 2010-11) and Okafor ($11.5 million), with contracts totaling $26.4 million, to the Lakers for the combined $27.5 million in 2010-11 contracts of Andrew Bynum ($13.8 million), Lamar Odom ($8.2 million) and Sasha Vujacic ($5.5 million).

The Lakers are scary enough with Derek Fisher running point and Andrew Bynum limping his way through a semi-productive Finals. Add Paul to the team and a center with two functioning knees (although Okafor is no healthy Harry either) and suddenly that offense is lethal. My knees are shaking right now like I’m Chris Webber at the foul line during crunch-time.

Losing Lamar and Bynum would hurt the Lakers, but the thought of adding CP3 to that squad is enough to make me seriously consider a drug binge.