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The Celtics enjoyed the first offday of the All-Star break Thursday, with much of the team trekking to Los Angeles for this weekend's festivities. With the trade deadline looming shortly after the break, Peter May headlines Thursday's coverage with a look at those that could potentially be coming (or going):

--EXPLORING BOSTON'S OPTIONS AS TRADE DEADLINE NEARS--

There is less than a week to go before the trade deadline. The Celtics, once thought to be bystanders, now are at least thinking of tweaking their roster due to the recent, serious injury to Marquis Daniels. The area of concentration is Daniels' position: small forward or big guard. Not only would it help to have someone who can step into that role to spell Daniels -- there's no assurance he will be back after bruising his spinal cord -- but also to spell Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, both of whom have played in all 54 games this season.

--MAGIC/BIRD SHOW TO OPEN IN 2012--

The playwright behind the Broadway play "Lombardi" is moving from the gridiron to the basketball court. Eric Simonson is working on "Magic/Bird," a new play that will chronicle the lives of Hall of Famers Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. Producers Fran Kirmser and Tony Ponturo were encouraged by the response to "Lombardi" -- the story of legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi now on Broadway -- to push ahead with a second sports-themed play.

--VIDEO: TOP 10 C'S PLAYS FROM THE FIRST HALF OF SEASON--

From Ray Allen's record-breaking 3-pointer against the Los Angeles Lakers, to Paul Pierce's 20,000th point, to Kevin Garnett's alley-oop finish to beat the 76ers, we count down the top 10 moments from the first half of the Celtics' season.

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said on Boston sports radio WEEI (850 AM) Friday that the team pursued deals to acquire big-name players including Kevin Martin from Sacramento, Amare Stoudemire from Phoenix, and Caron Butler from Washington, before landing Nate Robinson from the Knicks.

"We did talk about getting Stoudemire," Ainge said. "I got a sense [Phoenix wasn't] getting the things they wanted. I think they would have moved him, but I think they like Amare. He's a terrific player and they didn't get what they wanted."

He said he had discussions with the Kings about Martin, who ended up going to Houston. "Yes, we did have interest and discussions," he said.

He said the Celtics were looking in several directions, trying to find a fit as they head into the second half of the season and make a playoff push.

"We had some wish-list players, but they weren't available," Ainge added. He said that many of the trade rumors reported in the media were off base, and several of the deals he was actually working on weren't picked up by reporters.

Read more HERE.

Colleague Peter May checks in with a look at how the Boston Celtics' deadline move to acquire Nate Robinson stacks up against what the rest of the league did to position themselves for a title run. Writes May:

Of greater concern to Celtics fans has to be that while they may have made a minor roster improvement, the Cavaliers, the team they are trying to catch, appear to have made a major upgrade with the addition of Antawn Jamison. He gives them another scorer, another rebounder, your prototype "stretch 4" in today's hoop parlance. And, if Zydrunas Ilgauskas returns as predicted, the cost of the deal will be only felt by owner Dan Gilbert, not coach Mike Brown. Everyone of import will be there come playoff time.

The Cavs can say they are a better team today -- and they were already better than anyone else in the East. Celtics boss Danny Ainge made a decision: he is going to try to win it with what he has, hoping that the 23-5 team he saw in the first two months of the season is the one that shows up in the postseason, not the one that is under .500 since Christmas. He believes that the Celtics of November-December are still there, somewhere.

But also there are all of the issues surrounding this team prior to the trading deadline. How can they be such a horrible rebounding team? Why can't they take care of the ball? When will Allen start making threes with his customary efficiency? Can Paul Pierce be the go-to guy he was in June 2008 on a regular basis? And, most important of all, can Kevin Garnett stop looking like Long John Silver on the floor and become anything close to what he was two years ago?

Those were all legitimate questions up to 3 p.m. Thursday, and they still are. In the meantime, the Cavaliers improved, which does not make the Celtics' short-term outlook any rosier. And so many Eastern Conference teams will have cap room next summer (the Bulls expertly cleared cap room with two deals) that the long-term outlook doesn't look a whole lot better, either.

Click HERE to read the full story.

LOS ANGELES -- Nate Robinson appears one step closer to being a member of the Boston Celtics.

League sources told ESPN’s Chris Sheridan Thursday that the Celtics and Knicks have agreed to a tentative deadline day swap that should bring the three-time dunk champion to Boston as part of a five-player deal that sends guard Eddie House to New York.

According to the sources, Boston receives Robinson and an unidentified second player in exchange for House and second-year players J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker.

Given Robinson’s status as a base-year compensation player, Boston and New York have negotiated for much of the past three days trying find a way to make salaries line up.

It’s unclear whether the second player coming from New York could be a player received by the Knicks during the team’s active deadline pursuits, or a third team, all of which leaves the deal very much tentative.

House practiced with the Celtics Wednesday, but openly acknowledged that he expected to be dealt before Thursday’s 3 p.m. deadline.

"I was talking with my agent and there's a strong possibility that I'll be traded [Thursday] to New York," said House. "With that being said, I've always had a bond with these guys. I love playing with [the Celtics], but at the end of the day, it's a business. The Celtics feel like they're a better team with the guy they're trying to get. I gotta move on, that's what it is.

"At the end of the day, you can't control it. It's out of my hands -- it's never been in my hands. Wherever I go, if I go to New York, I'll play two months, try to play real strong basketball, get some wins with those guys, and make a good account for me for free agency."

House was a fan favorite for his high energy and perimeter shooting, but he's struggled this season, connecting on 64 of 167 3-pointers (40.1 percent) through 50 games. If Tuesday's visit to Sacramento was his final contest in green, he went out with a bang by scoring 12 points with a quartet of triples in a 95-92 triumph.

Robinson, a first-round pick (21st overall) of the Phoenix Suns in the 2005 draft, has spent his entire five-year career with the Knicks. He's averaging 13.2 points and 3.7 assists per game this season, but has appeared in only 30 contests after falling out of favor in New York. He was held out of Wednesday night's game with flu-like symptoms.

Robinson’s post to his verified Twitter account seem to suggest a deal is near. He wrote this morning: “This is a sad day for me as well but I have tears of joy ... Thanks to my fans.”

A three-time slam-dunk contest champion, Robinson will be expected to provide a different sort of offensive outburst than House off the bench, but he's also a high-energy guy and, while designated a point guard, he's known more for scoring the ball than distributing it.

Giddens, a former first-round pick (30th overall), and Walker, chosen in the second round (47th overall), were end-of-the-bench players used sparingly in Doc Rivers’ hermetic rotation.

Giddens appeared in 21 games this season (27 for his career), including one start, scoring a total of 24 points. Walker appeared in eight games this season (37 for his career), scoring only eight points.

Thanks to our friends at ESPN's Stats and Research, here's a list of deadline swaps the Boston Celtics have engaged in since 1989, the year Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was traded to Sacramento.

Feb. 19, 2009: Boston trades Patrick O'Bryant to Toronto for a 2014 second-round draft pick; Boston trades Sam Cassel to Sacramento for a 2015 second-round draft pick.

Feb. 25, 2005: Boston trades Jiri Welsch to Cleveland for a 2007 first-round pick; Boston trades Gary Payton, Tom Gugliotta, Michael Stewart and a first-round pick to Atlanta for Antoine Walker and cash.

Feb. 19, 2004: Boston acquires Chucky Atkins, Lindsey Hunter, the Detroit Pistons' 2004 first-round draft pick, and cash considerations in a three-way trade that featured Rasheed Wallace going to Detroit with Mike James, while Chris Mills went to Atlanta.

Feb. 20, 2003: Boston trades Shammond Williams, a 2003 second-round draft pick, and cash considerations to Denver for Mark Blount and Mark Bryant.

March 11, 1999: Boston trades Andrew DeClercq and a conditional 1999 first-round draft pick to Cleveland for Vitaly Potapenko.

Feb. 23, 1989: Boston trades Danny Ainge and Brad Lohaus to Sacramento in exchange for Joe Kleine and Ed Pinckney.

LOS ANGELES -- With Eddie House openly admitting Wednesday that the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks are nearing a trade deadline deal that likely will involve him swapping jerseys with Nate Robinson, two questions immediately come to mind:

1) Are the Celtics a better team because of this deal? 2) Is this the only move Boston plans to make before Thursday's 3 p.m. deadline?

Maybe it's appropriate the Celtics were traveling near the San Andreas Fault as this deal came together, because, if nothing else, it's set to provide Boston with the shakeup it so desperately needed after dropping 13 of its final 22 games before the All-Star break.

The Celtics, sloppy and lacking composure at times late in the first half of the season, stumbled time and again, and president of basketball operations Danny Ainge appears to be sending a message that the status quo will not be tolerated by stripping the team of one of its core members from the 2007-08 championship team.

For a Celtics team that hung a blank championship banner in its practice facility before the start of the 2009-10 season, it's a reminder that anything short of filling in that banner will be considered failure.

For a Celtics team that has a picture of the Larry O'Brien trophy hanging near the locker-room door at TD Garden, it's a reminder that management will not simply let a championship-caliber season spin out of control.

Click HERE to read the full story.

WESTWOOD, Calif. -- Boston Celtics guard Eddie House practiced with the team Wednesday on the campus of UCLA, but acknowledged that he expects to be traded to the New York Knicks in a deal that would bring Nate Robinson to Boston before Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers stressed the deal is not done, but confirmed talks are ongoing.

"I was talking with my agent and there's a strong possibility that I'll be traded [Thursday] to New York," said House. "With that being said, I've always had a bond with these guys. I love playing with [the Celtics], but at the end of the day, it's a business. The Celtics feel like they're a better team with the guy they're trying to get. I gotta move on, that's what it is. I'm here at practice today, I'm a basketball player, I'm going to do what I love to do. Then [Thursday] I'll figure out what's going to happen.

"At the end of the day, you can't control it. It's out of my hands -- it's never been in my hands. Wherever I go, if I go to New York, I'll play two months, try to play real strong basketball, get some wins with those guys, and make a good account for me for free agency."

House is making $2.86 million in the final year of his contract. Still left to be determined is how exactly the Celtics and Knicks can swing a deal given that Robinson is a base-year compensation player, meaning only about $2 million of his $4 million salary this season can be counted in any trade.

While House's teammates initially shied from talking about the deal ("If it happens, then it happens, I'm just focused on [the Lakers]," said Paul Pierce), House stood up to the microphones to talk openly about the rumors before the start of Boston's session.

House expressed excitement about potentially reconnecting with Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni, whom he played for in Phoenix.

"That helps a lot," said House. "I know the coaching staff, I know the system, I know the plays they run. I know my style fits right in. I'm feeling good right now about the way I'm playing. It's going to be a good thing. You have to take it like that.

"Nothing surprises me in this league. You never know what can happen. I take it all in stride. It had to be for a reason. Whatever that reason is."

House also acknowledged that he came to practice on the off chance a deal with New York fell apart. While admitting the chances of that are slim, he practiced Wednesday with the idea he'll play against the Lakers, then adjust if a deal becomes official.

Rivers wouldn't comment directly on the trade negotiations, but noted that, if House was to depart in a trade, he would be losing one of his core guys, which Rivers said is tough to imagine. House spent the past three seasons in Boston, including the championship season of 2007-08. Last season he set a Celtics record with 44.5 percent shooting from 3-point land (besting a man, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, who is likely to trade him Thursday).

House was a fan favorite for his high energy and perimeter shooting, but he's struggled this season, connecting on 64 of 167 3-pointers (40.1 percent) through 50 games. If Tuesday's visit to Sacramento was his final contest in green, he went out with a bang by scoring 12 points with a quartet of triples in a 95-92 triumph.

"It's easy for me to move guys from the exterior of the core, but it's difficult to even think about touching anyone in the core," said Rivers. "If we do this, that, in my opinion, is what we'd be doing here. To me, that's a tough thing to do. But that's life in the NBA."

Added Rivers: "I'm not going to talk about [a potential trade] until it is done. If something gets done, then I'll talk. If nothing gets done, then there's nothing to talk about, which would be great."

Asked if he gave House the opportunity to skip practice, Rivers said: "I talked to Eddie, told him what was going on. I was honest with him. I told him if he didn't want to practice, [he didn't have to] -- but I also told him nothing is done, and nothing is done."

Robinson, a first-round pick (21st overall) of the Phoenix Suns in the 2005 draft, has spent his entire five-year career with the Knicks. He's averaging 13.2 points and 3.7 assists per game this season, but has appeared in only 30 contests after falling out of favor in New York.

A three-time slam-dunk contest champion, Robinson will be expected to provide a different sort of offensive outburst than House off the bench, but he's also a high-energy guy and, while designated a point guard, he's known more for scoring the ball than distributing it.

With Thursday's trade deadline rapidly approaching, Boston's trio of All-Stars were peppered with questions about the potential moves the Celtics and their rivals might make for the stretch run during media availabilities at All-Star weekend.

Pierce admitted its impossible to escape the rumors, particularly when they swirl about teammates, but noted there's little he can do other than try to make the Celtics the best team possible on the court.

"You read about it, it's in front of us everyday," Pierce said after Sunday's All-Star Game. "But all we can work on is improving ourselves."

When a reporter asked about Cleveland's rumored interest in Western Conference starting center Amare Stoudemire, Pierce suggested no one was going to pack it in just because a rival makes a big-splash move, and reaffirmed his love of this year's Celtics team.

"We're all trying to position ourselves to win a championship," said Pierce. "If Amare goes there, he goes there. We still gotta go out and play. Obviously, that would improve their team, but we feel that, with the team we've got, we can beat anyone in the NBA."

Earlier, Pierce was asked if Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge ever consults him on potential deals or available players to gauge whether they'd be a good fit for the Celtics.

"He has in the past, but, lately, Danny hasn't really talked about it," said Pierce. "I think he likes our team. He knows we can turn this around.

"I stick to my place. I don't worry about [trades]. Danny makes those decisions. He's done a great job of building this team."

Here's a handful of trade links as the clock ticks towards Thursday's deadline:

* ESPN's Chad Ford (Insider) suggests the Celtics are among the buyers this trade season, and one GM suggests the team might be "getting desperate."

To quote one general manager who spoke with Ainge in the past 48 hours, "I get the feeling Boston's getting desperate."

With the Celtics looking more like an NBA Legends team than a serious title contender at the moment, Ainge has a difficult decision to make.

If he believes that a tweak of the roster will put the Celtics into contention, then Ainge has a number of smaller contracts he could use to land a player.

If Ainge believes a bigger change is in order, now is the time to make a move. If he doesn't trade Allen now, his hands could be tied until the summer of 2012, unless he wants to consider trading Paul Pierce (whose contract expires in 2011) or Kevin Garnett (whose contract expires in 2012) at some point.

What could Ainge get for Allen? The Celtics have looked into the possibility of acquiring Andre Iguodala, Kirk Hinrich, Kevin Martin or Monta Ellis. Each would be expensive over the long haul, and it's not clear that Boston has what it takes to get Iguodala, Martin or Ellis. Given that, Hinrich, the least expensive of the four, might be Ainge's best bet, but he's also the oldest and least desirable of the foursome.

* The Lakers are reportedly showing interest in Chicago's Kirk Hinrich given Los Angeles' inability to slow opposing point guards. With some suggesting Boston's interest in Hinrich, it could be a Lakers vs. Celtics doubleheader Thursday (first in trade pursuits, then on the court).

* As for Cleveland's desire for Stoudemire, sources suggest another Eastern Conference foe -- the Miami Heat -- might be upping their pursuit of the All-Star center.

* We'll tackle more of your trade questions and offer some opinion on all things trade related in this week's Celtics Mailbag. Get your questions in now, then look for 'bag Wednesday afternoon.