Troy Murphy agreed to a buyout yesterday from the Golden St. Warriors, making him a free agent once he clears waivers.

According to multiple reports, Murphy has narrowed his targets to two teams: the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. The Orlando Magic, who would seem to have more of a need for Murphy than any other team, are reportedly out of the mix (even though their only backup big men are Ryan Anderson, Earl Clark and Malik Allen — three men who make Nenad Krstic look like Wilt Chamberlain).

Though Murphy is still considering the Heat, CSNNE’s A. Sherrod Blakely reports the Celtics have emerged as frontrunners. One factor? The Heat have 15 players, and might not want to waive anybody to open a roster spot for Murphy.

A league source has confirmed that Troy Murphy has come to terms on a buyout with the Golden State Warriors, which will pave the way for the 6-foot-10 inch forward to sign with the Boston Celtics. The buyout is pending league approval, which won’t come about until sometime on Monday.

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News was the first to report Murphy’s buyout.

While it’s not a done deal that Murphy will be a Celtic, all indications are pointing in that direction.

The Celtics have also reportedly become the most likely destination for Leon Powe, though he has received interest from multiple other teams (including, most recently, the Hornets). Mike Bibby is another buyout candidate, but — with Delonte West in tow — the Celtics may not have much need for another point guard. The Heat have been rumored to have their eyes on Bibby.

Rasual Butler, another name who has been linked to the Celtics, reportedly plans to sign with the Chicago Bulls once he clears waivers. Butler will help Chicago’s thin shooting guard rotation, but certainly should not change the Eastern Conference hierarchy.

Troy Murphy to the Boston Celtics isn’t a done deal yet, I guess. The Golden St. Warriors, who traded for Murphy and were expected to buy out his contract, may hold on to him after all.

Warriors haven’t waived big man Troy Murphy yet and source tells Y! there are a “lot of considerations” now. Translation? Maybe he stays.

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.

According to Chris Mannix, the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat are frontrunners to sign Troy Murphy when his contract gets bought out.

Would Murphy help the Celtics? It depends whether the Celtics would pick up his name or his game. By that, I mean: Is Troy Murphy still Troy Murphy? Is he still the double-double candidate who — even though he couldn’t keep my kitchen sink from scoring a hoop — spreads the floor and snatches rebounds like they’re Costco free samples? Or is he someone else, the player who couldn’t crack New Jersey’s rotation and shot 34.2% from the field (and 17.4% from the arc) in his limited playing time?

If Shaq returns to health at any point, Murphy makes no sense. But Shaq will forever remain an injury question mark, so Murphy (I guess) would provide insurance. If he can still play.

Forgive me if I’m skeptical about adding a player who averaged a double-double as recently as last season. He just A) has never won anything in his entire life, so he probably doesn’t know how to play winning basketball, B) might not be the same player we remember averaging those double-doubles, and C) is licensed in spray-tanning. Seriously.

If Richard Hamilton and/or Troy Murphy get bought out this season, the Boston Celtics are expected to show interest. (Yahoo! Sports)

The Hornets will likely be in pursuit of New Jersey Nets forward Troy Murphy once the Nets reach a buyout agreement with him after the trade deadline. Nets coach Avery Johnson made clear he didn’t want Murphy after the three-team trade that brought him from the Indiana Pacers. Trade talks have gone nowhere for Murphy, who has an expiring contract. Nets GM Billy King will ultimately work a buyout to free Murphy to sign elsewhere.

In addition to the Hornets, several other teams are expected to show interest in Murphy, including the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks, sources said. …

Richard Hamilton will have to be willing to give back a significant portion of the two years, $25 million owed him to get a buyout on his contract. Sources said the Celtics still remain intrigued with Hamilton as a scorer off the bench.

Based on everything I’ve read, Hamilton has maintained that he won’t accept a small buyout. He wants to receive a large portion of the remaining two years and $25 million he is owed, which could complicate matters when it comes to a buyout. That said, if Hamilton wants to leave Detroit, a buyout could become his only option. There aren’t too many teams desperate to trade for a 33-year old (his birthday was actually on Valentine’s Day) shooting guard with many miles on his legs and many, many dollars remaining on his contract.

Moving on to Troy Murphy: umm, Troy Murphy? Even when he was posting double-doubles left and right, I always wondered whether Murphy was actually helping his team or hurting it. “Defense” isn’t exactly in his vocabulary, although “nearly 7-foot gunner with three-point range” is. Maybe signing Murphy would work out for the Celtics; beggars can’t be choosers, and if all the C’s big men stay injured the C’s will be beggars. But in Ireland, Troy Murphy actually means “Mikki Moore with shooting range.” Okay, so maybe the Mikki Moore comparison isn’t fair (or at all close). But if the C’s are looking for a quick fix to their currently thin frontcourt, Murphy’s not the answer.

(h/t CelticsBlog)

The Morning Walkthrough is a set of links to Boston Celtics articles throughout the internet, designed to get your day started the right way.

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “They have known each other since the eighth grade, have played together with the Knicks. But after four months with the Celtics, going to the Finals and playing a major role in the team reaching Game 7 against the Lakers, Robinson wasn’t the same player Crawford knew. ‘He’s grown up an awful lot,’ said Crawford. ‘I think that he actually won a couple of games in the playoffs for them with just his energy and his impact on the game. He’s never going to back down. If you’re going to war, that’s somebody you want to be in a foxhole with.’ Some things were the same. For one, Robinson’s decibel level never changes. ‘At 6 in the morning, he’s the same as at 6 at night,’ Crawford said. ‘Seriously, he’s going around, bouncing off the walls. That’s just Nate.’”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “Back in October it may have seemed like a fool’s errand, or a death wish, to ask the Celtics to keep pace with the Heat and Magic, but now the East seems wide open and with that comes the real possibility of gaining homecourt advantage in multiple rounds. We bring all this up because the Celtics are beginning a three-game stretch of games against the Nets, Raptors and Cavaliers. There’s no reason the Celtics should lose any of these games, but then again two of their four losses have come against Toronto and Cleveland. If they are going to win 60 games and compete for homecourt, these are the games they have to win and it wouldn’t hurt to do it convincingly. They probably don’t even need to be angry. Mildly annoyed should work just fine.”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “When Kevin Garnett has the ball, it’s more of the same. As the Boston Celtics continue to get props for an impressive start, there are a number of players who deserve some of the credit. You can include O’Neal and Garnett, a dynamic big-man duo whose collective efforts are too great to ignore. Statistically speaking, neither is having the kind of off-the-charts season that fans have grown accustomed to. However, both are delivering just what the C’s need at both ends of the floor.”

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald – “Both aging big men are clearly feeding off each other this season. Both have talked about the remarkable decrease in double teams when they get to play in tandem. ‘Perfect,’ said [Shaq] O’Neal. ‘I think it’s a relationship of respect, after our battles over the years. We’ve seen what we can do over the years. We’re basically the same thing to each other, and we can say anything to each other. He can say anything to me and I’ll respect his word, and he’ll respect my word. I knew that it was going to be a good relationship coming in. I’ve played on a lot of other teams where the other team didn’t have to respect the 4 (power forward),’ he said. ‘So being that they have to respect him means that there’s a lot more room for me. It also means there’s a lot more room for him, so we’re going to use each other. I think it’s a good fit.’”

Colin Stephenson, New Jersey Star Ledger – “Troy Murphy will sit out his fourth straight game tonight when the Nets host the Atlanta Hawks at the Prudential Center and Nets coach Avery Johnson said the 6-11 power forward will not make the trip with the team to Boston for Wednesday’s game at the TD Banknorth Garden. ‘We talked this morning, and he feels he’s getting stronger,’ Johnson said of Murphy. ‘He’s not going to go with us to Boston – he’s going to stay back and get some more extra work done in our strength and conditioning program. And in about a week or so, we’ll see where we are with him.’”

Colin Stephenson, New Jersey Star Ledger – “Terrence Williams has been placed on the inactive list for tonight’s game against the Atlanta Hawks for disciplinary reasons, coach Avery Johnson told reporters in his pregame briefing. ‘Terrence is inactive for repeatedly violating team policy,’ Johnson said. ‘So that’s why he’s inactive tonight and he will not travel with the team to Boston.’ Williams will join Troy Murphy and the injured Quinton Ross (calf) on the list of players not going to Boston for Wednesday’s game against the Celtics.”

Got a tip? An article you think should be included? Send an email to jayking@celticstown.com or hit me up on Twitter @CelticsTown.