Apparently, all the talk surrounding Kobe Bryant’s demand for a trade has gotten to some player’s heads. Paul Pierce is one of those players. A member of the Boston Celtics since 1998, Pierce has issued an ultimatum to the team. If they don’t come out of this week with a talented veteran, he wants out.

“Danny is under tremendous pressure, from inside and outside, to get a deal for someone done this week,” one league executive said.

The trade frenzy that has surrounded the league since the Finals ended has got a lot of players talking. Fortunately for Pierce, the Celtics have been included in most of these rumors. The bad news? None of these players want to play for Danny Ainge in Boston. Kevin Garnett, Shawn Marion, and Jermaine O’Neal could all help out Pierce and a cast of talented young players.

Is Pierce overreacting? Perhaps a little. The Celtics are desperately trying to get things done but aren’t willing to part with their young stud, Al Jefferson. I don’t think this team is that screwed. Players like Jefferson, Delonte West, Rajon Rondo, and Ryan Gomes are only getting better. With the chance to land another young player in tomorrow’s draft, the Celts aren’t too far out of playoff contention in the miserable Eastern Conference.

Kevin Garnett, one of the game’s brightest stars, knows all about playing for a loser. He’s gone through years of turmoil in Minnesota and has been linked in trades for the last couple of years. This year appears to be the year for Garnett to change uniforms. But he won’t be a Boston Celtic. According to KG’s agent, “The Big Ticket” has zero interest in moving to Beantown.

“The Boston trade isn’t happening,” Garnett’s agent, Andy Miller, told ESPN.com’s Chris Sheridan. “If a trade were to happen, that’s not a destination that we’re interested in pursuing.”

No shit? Few teams were worse than the 32-50 Timberwolves. But the Celtics were one of them, finishing a horrendous 24-58. There’s some young talent in Boston but a lot of it (Al Jefferson and the 5th overall pick) would have to leave town for Garnett to arrive. For a guy that desperately wants to win now, they’re not a very attractive destination for one of the game’s best players. However, Garnett has expressed a desire to be end up in Phoenix, which presents some fun scenarios.

Consider half of Garnett’s body is frozen up in Minnesota, you can see why he wants two things: A warm city and a championship contender. That sounds like Phoenix to me, though the words “warm” and “hell” are interchangeable with that city’s weather. However, the Timberwolves want Amare Stoudemire out of the deal. Phoenix would rather part with Shawn Marion, who already stated he doesn’t want to play for Minnesota. Sounds like typical NBA trade banter, meaning very little will get done anytime soon.

As the NBA Playoffs continue towards the finals, the Mitchell and Ness Nostalgia Company has unleashed a few NBA Throwback jackets that capture the good ‘ole days. Currently, Mitchell and Ness have only created back four jackets. But with the quality of the apparel and design, the company might have to chalk up more jackets for fans of other teams.

My favorite jacket of all four is the Chicago Bulls throwback. Even though the colors gray and ash have nothing to do with the Bulls logo, the jacket has a charcoal colored tone that looks awesome. The jacket is trimmed with a three inch thick black lining that includes two pockets. The Bulls logo is placed on the right side of the jacket and the team name appears on the back in the standard “Bulls” font.

The next jacket that caught my eye was the New Jersey Nets throwback. The bottom half of the jacket is blue with a thick red line that runs through the middle, finished off by white in the top half of the jacket. The jacket reminds me of the 1986 Hardwood Classic worn by the Nets. The away uni from that year was also very similar. I think the best part of the jacket is the multi-color look with the Nets font on the front. Plus, you have to dig the red, white, and blue sleeves. Read the rest of this entry »

As of today, Sebastian Telfair will be unemployed. Reports out of Boston indicate that the Celtics will be cutting ties with the troubled point guard just days after Telfair was charged for the second time with possession of a loaded gun.

While I could think of a few reasons to get rid of the one year in college before entering the draft rule, here’s a perfect example of why the rule makes sense. Telfair was a heralded High school star who made the jump from high school to the pros and has done nothing but make trouble. This is what happens when guys who aren’t rounded and competent skip the crucial learning and developing period of college basketball. Along with making players better, college also makes players more mature and less likely to do ignorant crap like what Telfair did. Not everyone is rounded and well-raised like LeBron or Kobe, both of whom also made the jump from high school to the NBA.

First Telfair carries a loaded gun onto a plane and plays it off like it was his girl friend’s. Now he gets caught again with a loaded gun and plays it off to one of his friends. Does he actually think we’re buying the bullshit he’s feeding us? Or is he actually that dumb? As far as I’m concerned, Telfair is a bust and a punk. He’s contributed virtually nothing to the NBA since his arrival, and has only caused trouble. It’s an outstanding move on the Celtics part to get rid of this guy, especially with all the publicity they’re receiving regarding the first overall draft pick in this years NBA draft. Telfair, you’re not needed.

If you want to see a perfect example of how not to run a franchise you just need to look at the Boston Celtics. Evidently that’s an honor that Danny Ainge wants to keep. In managing to completely fail at everything he does, Ainge and the Celtics have been fined $30,000 for inappropriate contact with Kevin Durant.

Ainge is being fined because he sat next to Durant’s mom during the Big 12 contract and broke the rule that prevents excessive contact with a player before they declare for the draft. I understand the fear that the NBA has here, and while I think it’s dumb, I respect them and the NCAA. They’re trying their best to prevent any corruption between players and suits in the NBA. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but I can roll with it.

I can’t understand what Danny Ainge was possibly thinking when he made the decisions that he did. He knows the rules against this, and knows that nothing good can come of it. If the Celtics get the first draft pick and Durant has turned pro and gets picked by them, what choice does he have? He’s going to be a Celtic, no amount of sweet talking will change that fact. So why do something as stupid as this and get fined for it?

Ainge has managed to give the Celtics an even worse reputation than they had before. Not only are they terrible and heading in no logical direction, now they’re shady businessmen too. If Greg Oden and Durant both go pro, then Ainge has a simple decision to make and it shouldn’t take sitting with Durant’s mother at a basketball game to make that decision.

When it looked like things might actually be getting better for the Boston Celtics, something else goes wrong. They did manage to squeak out a 77-72 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday, in what I can only imagine was one of the ugliest games in history, but they now have to deal with a problem caused by one of the own.

The Celtics radio announcer Cedric Maxwell made some impressively sexist statements on air during the game. After what he felt was a bad call by female referee Violet Palmer, Maxwell launched into a tirade. The end result was essentially this: Maxwell feels women belong in the kitchen and not on the basketball court. Included in his rant was this simple, and barbaric statement “Go in there and make me some bacon and eggs, would you?”

Congratulations Credic, you’ve earned a spot in the idiots hall of fame. I’m assuming that because so few people care about Celtics basketball there was an incredibly limited audience, and that is why this hasn’t become a huge issue. Also his quick apology, coming on Wednesday, probably saved him his job. Maybe he should talk with Keith Hernandez about making such sexist remarks.

Of course these men get to keep their job, but when Sean Salisbury flaunts his man parts, all he gets is a slap on the wrist. I guess I can understand the frustration from having to watch the Celtics all year, but come on, have some common sense. We’re in the 21st century, this isn’t the dark ages, so even if you do think women should handle the domestic duties, you don’t yell that out on the radio. Think, that’s all I’m asking for.