NBA Trade Rumors: League Questioning Clippers/Celtics Deal

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Late last night, it was reported the Clippers were going to talk to owner Donald Sterling in hope that he would approve a trade (well, actually one trade and separate compensation) between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers.

Now the potential trade between the Celtics and the Clippers could be hitting another snag.

“Sources tell ESPN it’s been communicated to Celts & Clips that league has questions about proposed deals and appearance they are connected,tweeted ESPN’s Marc Stein.

Obviously the deals are connected. Garnett and Rivers view themselves as a package, which is why Garnett is willing to waive his no trade clause.

“NBA rules prohibit any trade/signing being made w/contingencies or side deals,” said Stein via twitter. “Can Celts & Clips prove Doc & KG deals are “separate” moves?”

Technically the deals are separate. Boston power forward Kevin Garnett and Clippers center DeAndre Jordan are involved in one deal while two first round draft picks owned by the Clippers would be shipped to Boston as compensation for head coach Doc Rivers, who still has three years remaining on the five-year, $35 million contract he signed.

However,that’s obviously not how they appear and the league is clearly not happy about that.

 Follow Andrew on twitter here.