Today's Rumors and More: A Run-Through

NEW RUMOR: Gary Tanguay reporting from Twitter -- Garnett, Danny Ainge, and Wyc Grousbeck will all make the trek to Michigan to meet with Rasheed Wallace. It's unknown whether or not Paul and Ray make the trip too. If they do, then I'd say Ray Allen will be a Celtic next year. Why would the Celtics bring him along if they were planning on trading him anyway?Cavs very interested in Artest, Ariza.According to several league sources, the Cavs are attempting to land Houston Rockets free-agent forward Ron Artest, and the pitch included a meeting with LeBron James on Tuesday night in Los Angeles as both were in Southern California for various events. In addition, a league source indicated the team is trying to attract Los Angeles Lakers swingman Trevor Ariza, who appears to be disgruntled with the Lakers' early attempts to re-sign him. Ariza's agent, David Lee, told the Riverside, Calif., Press-Enterprise Wednesday, "I think I'm being optimistic when I say it's not going anywhere." He added that Ariza might be ready to sign elsewhere. ESPN reported Ariza had been in contact with the Cavs coaching staff. Both players are unrestricted free agents and are being courted by several teams. Without a sign-and-trade deal, the most the Cavs could sign a player to is a salary starting at around $5.6 million with their midlevel exception. Artest made $7.4 million last season, Ariza $3.1 million. Artest is believed to prefer to play for a championship contender and is thought to be considering the Lakers and Celtics in addition to the Cavs. With the Rockets facing the uncertain injury status of stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, it is unclear how hard they will try to push to re-sign Artest.The Rockets have had interest in Cavs free agent Anderson Varejao in the past, which opens up some possibilities of a sign-and-trade scenario. The Cavs, however, have said they want to re-sign Varejao. Insight: This scenario has been discussed by both sides for quite some time now. The Cavs need a guy to take the load off LeBron on defense, and take on the role of guarding guys like Paul Pierce, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Hedo Turkoglu, Vince Carter, and Paul Pierce. With a starting line-up of Mo Williams, Ron Artest, LeBron James, a free agent/Anderson Varejao, and Shaq, they'd impose both a threat on defense and on offense. However, what catches my eye is "Artest is believed to prefer to play for a championship contender and is thought to be considering the Lakers and Celtics in addition to the Cavs." The Celtics too, need a player who can share some of the burden with their star small forward, Paul Pierce, on defense and offense. If the Danny Ainge can steal Artest away, we'd be looking at a more impressive Celtics team than we've ever seen since Garnett arrived in Boston.With the vast improvement of Glen Davis, -- who seems to be leaning more towards coming back to the C's after they made a qualifying offer to him -- Rajon Rondo, and Kendrick Perkins, the Celtics have a whole new look. Ainge may look to make a big splash this year to give the team a revamped roster heading into 2009-10.However, if the C's do manage to work something out with Artest, I doubt they'd make a move for Rasheed Wallace. While a big man is a team need, I'm hoping Artest would take less money in exchange for a better shot at the title, as the C's would then have the opportunity to sign a solid big man in the free agent market. Trevor Ariza has also been rumored to go to the Celtics, along with teams such as the Cavs and Lakers. I'm not sure why he wouldn't return to LA, as he just won a title with them, but then again, the more effective players leaving the Lakers the better. Ariza offers some flexibility in terms of positions and roles. He is able to come off the bench and start, and is capable of playing both the small forward position and shooting guard. It's a controversial rumor for sure. All I know is that whatever team succeeds in bidding for one of the two players automatically becomes favorites for the championship. Celtics still looking hard at Rasheed Wallace.The Celtics' interest in Wallace is not for the long term, though. Wallace, 34, might be the most intriguing of free agent candidates, his relationship with Celtics forward Kevin Garnett a possible advantage.Strickland confirmed the Celtics' contact with Wallace with a text message: "The interest is mutual.''Asked if Wallace, who earned $13 million with the Pistons last season, could join the Celtics as a mid-level exception, Strickland said: "We will see how things work out.''Charlotte, Cleveland, Orlando, and San Antonio have also shown interest in Wallace.Ainge said he did not contact any players directly, nor has he made contract offers. Ainge said he has been on the receiving end of many more inquiries from agents in recent days than he has proferred."We'll just continue to stay in contact with free agents to see if there is something we can do,'' Ainge said. "That could take some time. Free agents are talking to several teams. I don't anticipate anything dramatic happening any time soon. We have plenty of time left."We have an interest in a lot of free agents, on different levels. We have different needs. I think everybody's trying to get a feel to where the market is. I think a lot of players start on July 1st with big dollar signs in their eyes, and then some of them get it, and some of them don't. And some of them come looking for anything later in the summer.Insight: Danny Ainge is one tricky fella. Rasheed Wallace, Ron Artest, and Trevor Ariza are all on the Celtics radar among others. They need a big man, and a guy to back up Paul Pierce. But wait! They want to get Bill Walker some minutes as well. But, if they don't sign a free agent to back up Pierce and make Walker the second string small forward, we can't be sure that Walker will come through. After all, he didn't get too many minutes in his first year.I can only tell you guys one thing I'm 100% positive about: Danny Ainge sure brews up a lot of questions.Chris Broussard is telling us on ESPN that Rip Hamilton will not be traded by the Pistons, Avery Johnson most targeted to replace vacant coaching position.Insight: Interesting. Detroit feels that a backcourt of Stuckey, Gordon, and Rip Hamilton could be one explosive scoring machine. They'd have Gordon coming off the bench, something that he did for some time when playing for Chicago. Avery Johnson is a primary target for the Pistons in their search for a new coach, as they fired Michael Curry just days ago. It has also been reported that Bill Laimbeer is not a candidate. Surprise, surprise.Clippers sending Zach Randolph to the Grizz.The team [the Clips] agreed to trade power forward Zach Randolph to the Memphis Grizzlies for swingman Quentin Richardson, sources told ESPN.com's Chad Ford. The deal was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.The trade can't be finalized until the league establishes the salary cap July 8 and lifts the moratorium on player movement.Insight: Zach Randolph is on the move again, this time to the Grizz. That's it. It's final. Chris Wallace is officially one of the league's worst executives. On a team which includes Hakim Warrick, Rudy Gay, Mike Conley Jr., and Marc Gasol, why the heck would you want to trade for Zach Randolph? I understand that they get rid of another locker room cancer in return for Randolph, Quentin Richardson, but after Randolph's stint with the Clippers, I'm convinced he won't find a city he can truly call home. He's just too much of a loudmouth -- loves to get involved in altercations, loves to make a fuss.Is that really the direction Memphis is heading?