As we get closer to the Feb. 18 trading deadline, you can expect to hear more and more rumblings about whether the Boston Celtics will trade Ray Allen and his $19.7 million expiring contract. The latest buzz came Wednesday morning in the Boston Globe, which reported that while Danny Ainge is not actively shopping Allen, he is fielding an increasing number of calls about his 34-year-old shooting guard.

On Tuesday, ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard reported that, according to sources, Allen is definitely available.

Earlier this week, the hot rumor tied to Allen was a potential swap that would net the Celtics shooting guard Kevin Martin from the Kings. Earlier this month, the Warriors’ Monta Ellis was tied to an Allen trade rumor.

While Allen’s numbers are down this season, one of the biggest considerations for Ainge -- who has insisted he is not actively looking to deal Allen -- in deciding whether to send Allen out of town has to be whether what he can get in return will give the Celtics a better chance to win a title this season.

Trading players isn’t as simple in the NBA as it is in other sports. Rules dictate that salaries have to match up in order for a deal to be valid, which makes ESPN.com’s Trade Machine a valuable tool for armchair GMs at this time of year.

We’d like to issue a challenge to all of you Ainge wanna-bes out there: Using the Trade Machine, come up with an Allen trade that satisfies all of the following requirements:

1. Is valid using the Trade Machine.
2. Gives the Celtics a better chance to win an NBA title this season, in your view.
3. Can be argued from the perspective of both teams; in other words, satisfies a need for the other team involved as well. (Put yourself in the shoes of a fan of the opposing team)
4. Does not include a “bad contract” coming to the Celtics. Sources told the Boston Globe the Celtics were not interested in taking on any such contracts that would hurt salary cap space.

Have at it, and share your results and a link (you can generate a link to your trade using the Trade Machine’s “Share” function) in the comments section of this blog post.