From Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski:
The Celtics offered Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo to the Detroit Pistons for a package that included Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rodney Stuckey, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Boston general manager Danny Ainge and Detroit’s Joe Dumars never spoke, but rather the Celtics had a lower-level executive make the pitch to a Pistons official over the past weekend, league sources said. Detroit immediately rejected the idea, and it never advanced to the two top executives speaking about particulars.
I can see why the Celtics would like to do this deal, but I can also see why they had a lower-level exec make contact -- since, you know, even talking about this is a waste of everybody's time.
The only, and I mean only, appeal this trade might have for the Pistons is the fact that Ray Allen's $19.7 million contract expires after next season, which would give the Pistons even more room under the cap heading into the Summer of LeBron. But is completely destroying whatever identity the team still has while setting the stage for a 35-win 2009-10 season actually worth what's essentially nothing more than an unscratched lottery ticket? I just don't see it.
Thanks to Lawyerboy for the head's up