The Boston Celtics might not have been as close to trading Ray Allen as Yahoo! Sports reported on Friday.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal's Ronald Tillery reports that trade talks between the Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies which would have sent Ray Allen away from Boston "didn't have much shelf life" because the Celtics' asking price was too high.
Adrian Wojnarowski reported earlier that the Celtics told Allen he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in the moments before this season's trade deadline but the deal ultimately fell through. Yet Tillery seems to believe the talks never reached such an advanced stage.
According to Tillery, Boston wanted O.J. Mayo, Mike Conley, Dante Cunningham and rookie Josh Selby in "a large transaction that included draft picks."
It's likely that Danny Ainge was asking for the moon, Ainge planned to include other Celtics in the deal or Tillery's sources fed him some inaccurate information. Conley has had a very solid season, averaging 12.8 points and 6.7 assists while providing plus defense in the Memphis backcourt, and Mayo is well-regarded as a young bench scorer. The package would have been a lot to ask in return for a 36-year old shooting guard in the final few months of his contract.
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