Celtics Title Town

Chris Broussard @Chris_Broussard With Fab Melo as the bait, Celtics looking to add perimeter scoring. Wizards' Jordan Crawford available @ on their radar

Not thrilled about the Celtics looking to deal for a shooting guard. Especially after the Celtics were crushed on the glass. Unless they have another big in place, I'll be okay with that trade. But I really hope to see a big man in the mix.

ESPN

WILD CARD REPLACED: Celtics coach Doc Rivers lamented how the loss of Leandro Barbosa earlier this month took away Boston's "wild card," a guy with big scoring potential who could come off the bench and provide a much-needed spark. Crawford, so long as he's accepting of a bench role with somewhat inconsistent minutes, becomes Boston's new relief pitcher.

* LUXURY TAX IN FOCUS: If the Celtics were to bundle Barbosa and Fab Melo as part of a package for Crawford (see the trade HERE), it would save them roughly $1 million on the books and move them that much closer to dipping below the $70.3 million tax line (our inexact numbers have Boston hovering around $71.5 million committed so far this season). That could make the odds of adding more depth difficult -- for instance, Boston would have to be leery about extending Terrence Williams from a 10-day pact to a season-long deal, unless it could find another way to trim a bit of salary and get below that line. With stiff luxury tax repeater penalties looming, Boston could save a boatload of money down the road by getting below that line.

If the Celtics end up content to stand pat with their current core and are seeking roster upgrades for a stretch run, a potential Crawford deal makes a lot of sense and his 2013-14 salary ($2.2 million) isn't terribly prohibitive.