Jan 28, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay (22) is defended by Philadelphia 76ers guard Evan Turner (12) during the second quarter at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

About an hour ago ESPN’s Marc Stein broke the story that the deal that the Memphis Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors have reached an agreement that would send Gay, center Hamed Haddadi–who will likely be bought out–and a second round pick to Toronto and Jose Calderon to Memphis along with high-potential forward Ed Davis.For a second round pick as well.

Stein also reports that as Calderon comes to Memphis, he will be shipped out again to the Detroit Pistons who would send Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye back to Memphis.

The Grizzlies obviously achieve their goal of shedding some cap space here by bringing in two forwards who are still on their rookie deals and a forward who’s experienced. Prince may be a little overpaid–his contract is worth just over $21 million over the next three years–but its still not as much as Gay’s deal. In essence, they brought in three players for the same amount that Gay was to be paid this season.

The Pistions have shipped out two forwards who weren’t going to be apart of their future plans. Tayshaun Prince’s stay in Detroit was over a few years ago and Austin Daye was just a prospect who hadn’t panned out. Now, they’ll get an experience point guard to mentor Brandon Knight as he continues to grow in the league and bring in someone who will provide them with some production in that same token.

The Raptors get their borderline star player who’s having a down year, but still can provide defensively. I expect them to become one of the better defensive teams in the NBA with a starting lineup of Kyle Lowry, Demar Derozan, Rudy Gay, Amir Johnson, and Jonas Valanciunas.

For the Celtics this trade is huge. Memphis–who was said to be a big player in the market for Paul Pierce–is now out of that market officially finally moving Rudy Gay’s salary. It wouldn’t make any sense for them to move any players for Pierce’s salary or for his production this season.

It moves Jose Calderon out of the picture for a possible point guard to replace Rajon Rondo and that, in essence, also removes Kyle Lowry from the conversation also because the Raptors aren’t going to part ways with both of their point guards. They, too, also are out of the market for Pierce with Rudy Gay on their team as well.

So all of the Celtics/Raptors, Celtics/Grizzlies can be thrown in the trashcan. Take it how you want it, folks.

Screengrabbing season kicked off on opening night with the instantly infamous Snub Heard ‘Round the World.  Kevin Garnett’s hilarious rebuff of Ray Allen’s petition for skin-to-skin contact (copyright Tas Melas) had hoops “commentators” and “analysts” from coast to coast falling all over themselves in a maniacal scramble to see who could wave the banners of good sportsmanship and common decency most gymnastically.

In our write-up on “the incident,” we said that Garnett received his former teammate with a degree of enthusiasm normally reserved for street folks soliciting smokes and coins from the suit and tie crowd.  This called to mind a notable bit of dialogue from the John Huston classic The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, which obscured from us the chance to do some diehards-only quoting from the Tim Burton classic Batman.

We have since remedied the situation.

November 7, 2012
Game 4: Boston Celtics (2-2) vs. Washington Wizards (0-3)

After an 0-2 start, the Celtics got themselves into the win column with a ho-hum 89-86 victory over the truly awful Washington Wizards who are, at the time of writing, dead last in the league in offensive rating (95.2), effective field goal percentage (.438), average margin of victory (-6.55 points), and winning percentage (.000).

The teams dispensed with the rematch tout de suite, running it back on Causeway Street four nights later.  The Celtics came away with a 100-94 overtime victory, running their streak of seasons opening with back-to-back losses being reset to zero by back-to-back wins over the Wiz to two.

At the head of the effort was Kevin Garnett, who led all participants with 20 points and 13 rebounds.  While the statistical contributions certainly helped, it was the deployment of Garnett’s singular brand of psychological warfare that set the tenor of the game and quite likely pushed the Celtics over the top.  Over the course of 35 schizoid, raving minutes, Garnett barked, snarled, screamed, stalked, and generally bullied the Wizards, playing both ticket-taker and ringmaster in his own personal Carnival of Horrors.  Attractions included:

Displays such as these have made Garnett into one of the most divisive players in the game, adored by those who play for and support his teams, despised by most everyone else.  Detractors look at Garnett and see a “punk,” a “punk and a coward,” a “poor sport,” a “dirty player,” a  “blistery” – yes, “blistery” – “asshole.”  His proponents see a “warrior,” a “lion,” a “beloved teammate,” a “respected leader.”

For what it’s worth, we at the Kuts see all the world’s malice and cruelty roiling in a cauldron of godless terror and unfathomable despair.

What gets undersold by both camps, though, is the role that Garnett’s histrionics play within the framework of the larger team game.  His tendency to go after players he perceives as weak or inferior (young guys, little guys, foreign guys, guys who stink) rather than the big stars and heavy hitters is borne out of practicality and a firm grasp of long-play gamesmanship.  Essentially, you intimidate those you can break because they’re the ones who’ll start making mistakes as a result.

Consider the Wizards game.  While Garnett had brewed up enough frothing insanity to lap the table twice, he held back his largest doses for third-year forward Kevin Seraphin.  From the second quarter on, it appeared that Garnett was making a point to mess with the Guianan big man, pushing, poking, and prodding as much as possible within the boundaries of the rules.  Seraphin had tallied 19 points and 7 boards in the previous game, repeatedly drilling the Celtics’ interior on his way to an 8-9 shooting night.  Knocking him off the beam would go a good bit of the way toward a Boston victory.

With less than three minutes of regulation to play and the score tied at 80, Seraphin began to crack.  Up to this point, he had been having a pretty decent game: 16 points off 8-17 with 7 rebounds and 3 assists.  From the 2:37 mark to the end of the fourth quarter, though, he turned the ball over three times – a bad pass forced and stolen by Garnett, an offensive foul taken by Garnett, and a strip by Paul Pierce facilitated by some very aggressive defense from Garnett – and attempted zero shots.  In the overtime period, he was a veritable non-factor, going 0-2 with one rebound as his team was outscored 12-6 to close out the game.

Due to the groundwork he had begun to lay a full half of play earlier, Garnett was able to fluster his under-experienced opponent into a series of screw-ups and bad decisions at the game’s most critical juncture.  As he so often does, Tommy Heinsohn put it weirdest and best: “They’re just getting Seraphin to think in English instead of French, and he doesn’t know how to think his way out of a double team.”

November 9, 2012
Game 5: Boston Celtics (2-3) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (3-2)

With 3:13 left in the first quarter, Rajon Rondo inbounded from under the hoop to Brandon Bass on the wing.  Fronted by Spencer Hawes, Bass immediately went into a strong, lefty dribble-drive, blowing by his man in two long strides.  Bass hit the semicircle and went up hard to the rim, the ball held high over his head with both hands.  On the way up, he was clipped on the forearm by helping big Lavoy Allen, who gave the ball a momentary stay from the cylinder.  Bass went to the line and smoothly sank his two free throws.

Between FTs, Tommy Heinsohn explained a subtle new wrinkle in Bass’ game with an A+ extended simile, which we were more than happy to transcribe and provide a visual representation of.

Add this to his game: his ability to do what he just did there.  Last year, when he would drive, he would consistently show the ball to the defender and the defender had a good chance of blocking it because it was like putting an apple pie on the windowsill as a very hungry man was walking by.

November 14, 2012
Game 8: Boston Celtics (5-3) vs. Utah Jazz (4-5)

Following their 106-100 home loss to the Sixers, the Celtics got on a bit of a roll, taking their next three from the Bucks (96-92), the Bulls (101-95), and the Jazz (98-93).  The Jazz game was particularly fertile in terms of screengrabbing.  The Kuts came out firing early, snapping up this first-quarter close-up of Gordon Hayward’s dirt chops, which suggest a passive insistence on the part of Utah’s third-year guard to be known as “Gord” or “Gordie” Hayward from here on out.

Jeff Green’s early-season inconsistency has been remarked upon quite a bit.  While he’s sprinkled a handful of decent games into the mix, his per-36 numbers are below his career averages across the board, except for the turnovers, which are up.  The guy did sit out all of last year to recover from a major cardiac procedure, so we’re sure we can cut him some slack while he builds his game back up.

He took a big step forward in that department against Utah, turning in 16 points off 5-9 from the floor and 6-7 from the line in 27 minutes of action.  Amongst the 16 were a pair gotten off a rafter-quaking throw-down over former Celtic Al Jefferson, the sort of thing you might show a time-travelling Donald Dinnie if he were to ask you what a “posterization” was.

Green seems like a nice guy.  Like most nice guys, he also seems like a bit of a square.  This is evidenced by his puzzling decision to play basketball in black Steve Madden wingtips with white socks crumpling down to the ankles like he lost his garters.  Come on, Jeff; everybody knows that if you’re going to rock the high socks, you’ve got to bring ‘em all the way up to the knee.  Right, Big Dog?

Paul Pierce led all players with 23 points, getting 15 of them in a red-hot third quarter which saw the Celtics’ captain knock down three consecutive triples over a span of two-plus minutes.  The third one put the C’s up 60-58, and inspired rookie forward Jared Sullinger to unload a wicked windmilling celebration from the sideline.

November 15, 2012
Game 9: Boston Celtics (5-4) at Brooklyn Nets (5-2)

The next night, the Celtics hopped the Fung Wah Bus to NYC for their nationally-televised matchup with the Brooklyn Nets.  Clearly feeling stiff and fatigued from the ride, they dropped the game 102-97, despite actually outplaying their opponent in a number of different ways.  They shot the ball better from the field (.467 to .424), from the line (.800 to .786), and from downtown (.538 to .364).  They pounded the ball on the inside (46 points in the paint to 36) and ripped the net in transition (19 fast break points to 5).

Unfortunately, they also allowed a season-high 18 offensive rebounds, which resulted in an 85-75 field goal attempt advantage for the bad guys.  Basically, the Celtics did offense better, but the Nets did it more often.

While it wasn’t necessarily emblematic of how the game went, Keith Bogans provided what will assuredly be the most lasting image from the evening.  Towards the end of the second quarter, he attempted to twist Leandro Barbosa’s head off his body like he was opening a Fanta.

Several minutes prior to that, Jason Terry took a valiant swipe at Jared Sullinger’s sideline celebration crown, but went down in a third-round TKO.  After a bucket from KG brought the Celtics to within four, Terry rose from his seat, lifted his knee, and extended his right arm toward the Nets’ end of the floor in what looked like an interpretation of the famous Lady Justice statue.

It looks as though Terry meant to do… something…but whatever it was, it came out sideways and half-cocked at the moment of truth.  On the plus side, he may have accidentally stumbled across a thinking man’s expression of satisfaction for the next time an opponent turns the ball over or bricks a shot after a bogus call goes against the Celtics, a sort of non-verbal “ball don’t lie.”

November 17, 2012
Game 10: Boston Celtics (6-4) vs. Toronto Raptors (2-7)

The Celtics put their first wire-to-wire walloping in the books nearly three full weeks after the season began, dropping the Raptors 107-89 in a Saturday matinee at the Garden.  They had played four home games prior to this one, losing two and winning the others by a total margin of 11 points.  That’s not Gino time.  Knocking down 57 percent of your shots while your voodoo priest point guard drops 20 dimes and your undersized rookie “big” man racks up his first career double-double?  That’s Gino time.

November 21, 2012
Game 12: Boston Celtics (6-6) vs. San Antonio Spurs (9-3)

Though they were only down by two at the time, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo were stricken by a profound sadness as they watched their team grapple valiantly with the mighty Spurs.  It was as though they could see the game slipping away long before it happened, like a pair of expatriated Slovaks whose exhilaration at the prospect of engaging with the American Dream has been snuffed out by the absolute fact of the hard road growing only harder as it twists into the foggy alienscape ahead.

November 25, 2012
Game 14: Boston Celtics (8-6) at Orlando Magic (5-8)

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: at 15 seasons and counting, Paul Pierce still has the best smile in the business.

Will Paul Pierce end up wearing a different jersey next year? Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

As the Celtics try to evolve from the departure of Ray Allen, one must continue to ask the question, “Is the Celtics window for a title open or shut?”

The young tandem of Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo have looked mighty impressive in their summer league games, but is it nearly enough to improve a team that was one-win away from making the NBA Finals?

The Celtics still need to make more moves to compete with the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls when Derrick Rose returns from injury.

If the Celtics see their chances at a title in the impending season dwindle or come to a complete halt, I see four moves involving Paul Pierce that they can make to improve their roster for a title run the following year. Note that draft picks are not included. This is because of the obvious reason of the inability to determine how valuable a draft pick is without knowing the success of the team during the season.

1. Memphis Grizzlies http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=7zknsty

• Memphis Grizzlies receive: Paul Pierce
  

  Rudy Gay drives around Rajon Rondo Credit: Mark L. Baer-US PRESSWIRE

• Boston Celtics receive: Rudy Gay

Yes, the trade analysis shows the Celtics on the detrimental end of this deal. Pierce in no way however can be better in the future and will only decline from his current stature.

However, Rudy Gay still hasn’t surfaced the pinnacle of his talent. Gay is a very effective scorer and plays above average defense. He may not have the star power of other small forwards in the league but he can make an extremely beneficial partner for the quick tempo Rajon Rondo.

Gay is a much more agile player than the aging Paul Pierce and Rondo would serve much better with his ability compared to Pierce. This would be beneficial to a Memphis Grizzlies team who are on the cusp of championship run but need to fill the void of OJ Mayo’s shooting ability. Pierce may walk instead of run but he is still able shooter. Pierce would give the Grizzlies a better closer compared to Gay and a veteran leader in the locker room.

 2. Chicago Bulls http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=9derg8z

• Chicago Bulls receive: Paul Pierce, Avery Bradley
  

  Luol Deng playing tight defense against Paul Pierce Credit: Mike DiNovo-US PRESSWIRE

• Boston Celtics receive: Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler

I know it is devastating for Celtics’ fans to see Avery Bradley go, but he can be excellant trade bait for any team willing to over compensate for the defensive specialist. This is Rondo’s team and with the Celtics going to the All-Star point guard, he needs a better option than Avery Bradley in the future.

Jeff Green may be a solid starter for the C’s in the future, but they need to make an addition to their front line once Garnett relinquishes his spot on the team with his soon approaching injuries/retirement.

Deng and Gibson give the Celtics much younger pieces to help Rondo pile up his assist numbers. Luol Deng is one of the more under appreciated players in the league, he’s a coach’s best friend, and younger than Paul Pierce.

Doc Rivers would certainly like his athletic play and basketball IQ. Yes, the Celtics may lose more in this trade depending on how good Avery Bradley turns out, but with Deng coming off his 1st All-Star appearance, the Celtics may enjoy the grit the current Bull’s players may provide.

3. Sacramento Kings http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=94zhllf

• Sacramento Kings receive: Paul Pierce
  

  Tyreke Evans celebrating with Marcus Thornton Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

• Boston Celtics receive: Tyreke Evans, Marcus Thornton

Tyreke Evans has become expendable by Kings’ management with the signing off Aaron Brooks and the cinderella story of Isaiah Thomas. Evans was largely pursued during the trade deadline from last season, and the Kings failed to trade away the former Rookie of the Year.

Evans has the makings of being a star in the association but growing pains arose from his inability to play one position well. He shifted from point to small forward and with the Kings being heavy in guards they need an effective scorer from a true small forward like Paul Pierce.

Evans and Thornton both are dynamic scorers and  together average 33.5 points per game. The Celtics can rebuild with 4 very good guards which makes excellent trade bait in the future to acquire a big man. If the Evans experiment does fail, the Celtics can simply not resign him and they still keep the dynamic shooting ability of Marcus Thornton while not having the much more expensive Paul Pierce.

4. Atlanta Hawks http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=8lqcnwf

• Atlanta Hawks receive: Paul Pierce, Fab Melo, Jared Sullinger
  

  Kevin Garnett defending Josh Smith Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-US PRESSWIRE

• Boston Celtics receive: Josh Smith, Zaza Pachulia

Both teams easily win in this deal. Josh Smith has threatened to leave the seemingly always a first round-exit in the playoffs, the Atlanta Hawks.

Under the leadership of General Manager, Danny Ferry, the Hawks are preparing for a rebuilding period with Al Horford as their center piece for the future. Pierce gives them cap room in the future while providing a bit of leadership that Josh Smith clearly lacked.

Fab Melo and Jared Sullinger are the jewels for the Hawks in this deal. Both are prime contributors in the future for whatever organization they will be a part of. The Hawks could groom Sullinger and Melo to work alongside with All-Star Al Horford and give them valuable pieces for a future trade or championship runs.

Now to Josh Smith:  He has been linked to multiple teams like the Brooklyn Nets, but why not the Boston Celtics. Josh Smith is a defensive freak of nature and gives the Celtics’ the blocking tandem of Smith and Garnett.

Smith is also a talent that can work alongside Rajon Rondo and build a more uptempo offensive for the often stagnent Celtics of the past few years. If Smith were to go to Boston, the Heat could very easily be shut down by the stellar man-to-man defense of Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, Kevin Garnett, and Josh Smith.   Meanwhile, Zaza is just a filler for cap space, but gives the Celtics a hustler and a couple of fouls throughout the game. Something the Celtics have coveted on their bench for many years.

Overall, this trade makes most sense out of the 4 trade possibilities metioned, and the Celtics need to capitalize in the prime talent of Josh Smith and convince him to play 40+ games at the TD Bank Garden for many years before he commits to another team in the impending free agency period.