Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

According to reports by RealGM and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, the Boston Celtics were as close as they have ever been to dealing veteran forward Paul Pierce back in February, right before the NBA Trade Deadline.

The proposed three-team deal would have sent Pierce to the Dallas Mavericks. Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks would have then joined the Celtics.

Column: After refusing to part w/ Paul Pierce and a 1st round pick for Josh Smith, the Celtics keep coming in East. tinyurl.com/b3oxmzp

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) March 8, 2013

The Mavericks would have sent forwards Brandan Wright and (R) Jae Crowder, as well as guard Dahntay Jones to Atlanta, while also swapping first rounders in the 2013 NBA Draft. Jones eventually made his way to Atlanta in a trade for sharpshooter Anthony Morrow.

The Hawks were also looking to acquire a first-round pick from Boston.

The Celtics were reluctant to part ways with that pick, so ultimately the trade fell through.

It’s not as if Boston has been worse off for not going through with the deal. The team has won 13 of its last 17 games since All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo went down with an ACL tear that will keep him out for the remainder of the regular season, at the very least. They are now just 1 1/2 games out of the forth seed in the Eastern Conference (33-27), which would guarantee them home-court advantage in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs.

Boston hosts the Hawks later tonight at the TD Bank Garden. Tip-off is at 8:00 pm ET.

Chris Walder is the Editor of Sir Charles in Charge. You may follow him on Twitter at @WalderSports

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Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

According to a report by Paul Coro of azcentral.com, the Phoenix Suns and Oklahoma City Thunder were in talks over the All-Star break about a possible trade between the two teams.

The deal would send Suns center Marcin Gortat and forward P.J Tucker to Oklahoma City for Kendrick Perkins, rookie Jeremy Lamb and a first-round draft pick.

Little has been made of this rumor since the weekend, so it may turn out to be just smoke and mirrors at this point.

Gortat is averaging 11.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks a game for Phoenix. His numbers have taken a hit across the board (perhaps in part to Steve Nash not being around anymore), but it was just one season ago where Marcin was averaging a double-double of 15.4 points and 10.0 rebounds. His offensive game is also more polished than Perkins, which would give Oklahoma City a legitimate scoring option in the paint to pair with Serge Ibaka.

His contract comes to an end in 2014, which is one year earlier than Perkins, who is owed roughly $17 million over the next two seasons. With luxury tax implications soon coming into fruition, this would be a great way for the Thunder to save a few bucks in the process.

For Phoenix to willingly take on his contract, a first-round pick would surely need to be thrown in to sweeten the pot. The Toronto Raptors currently owe the Thunder a lottery-protected 2013 first-round draft pick, so OKC could promise the rights to that pick to the Suns if need be.

Jeremy Lamb, the #12 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, has been rotting on the Thunder’s bench and in the D-League for a majority of the year. In fact, the Suns showed heavy interest in taking Lamb with their #13 pick, before the Houston Rockets picked up right before they had a chance. Little is known of what he can do on the NBA level, but if given an opportunity to play, he could shock a lot of people.

Chris Walder is the Editor of Sir Charles in Charge. You may follow him on Twitter at @WalderSports