Though his old Celtics team is one potential suitor, especially with Danny Ainge set in the offseason to go looking for a second or third scoring option to complement Paul Pierce and Wally Szczerbiak, Mike James wants to remain a Raptor.

?They?ve shown that they like me, and want me,? he said. ?I would really like to go back.?

At a price, of course. James is reportedly looking for better than mid-level money - $6 million or more.

But Toronto made its first show of faith by not dealing James at Thursday?s trading deadline, at a time when the guard and his expiring contract was in heavy demand.

?We?re trying to find a way to keep him here,? said coach Sam Mitchell, who is not an easy man to please.

As today?s NBA trade deadline approached, the Celtics were exploring three basic avenues for a deal, but a series of calls have produced no results yet.

?We?re out there trying to find things that will make us better,? director of basketball operations Danny Ainge said, ?but the only things that have been available aren?t good deals for us. I?ve made just as many phone calls as in the past, and I?d say there are many things I?ve tried to make happen, but we haven?t been able to do anything we like.?

While Ainge wouldn?t get specific with his wish list, sources are saying he is turning away from anything that would alter his core of Paul Pierce, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, Al Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins. If a deal can be made, it would almost certainly fall into one of three categories - adding a key veteran, lessening the Celts? overall salary burden to create more flexibility down the line or trading for an untapped talent that may be sitting near the end of a bench.

?I do like a lot of our core guys, so I don?t feel like I have to do something,? Ainge said. ?As far as a veteran goes, I think that?s something we?ll definitely look at this summer. We want to see what we have right now. I want to see how the guys we have play together. I want to see them get experience and get better so we have a better feel of what we need in the offseason.?

The most interesting aspect of trade deadline week for the Celtics has been the realization that some teams believe what they read in the papers. That?s caused a few clubs to call the Celts and inquire about the availability of Paul Pierce.

According to one source out this way, a Western Conference general manager was surprised at the brevity of the discussion when Pierce?s name was raised. Said another team leader: ?I think teams believe they can get (Pierce) by offering a bunch of stuff, but I don?t think he?s going anywhere.?

As of right now, the Celts aren?t moving anyone. That could change if director of basketball operations Danny Ainge is offered the moon, but the team seems committed to giving its core some time to develop. That?s more than fine with Doc Rivers.

?I?ll be glad when it?s past,? he said of tomorrow?s NBA trade deadline. ?We need to make improvements, but we need to stay pat at the same time right now. I mean, the improvements will be made ? probably not right now, but you never can say never. But we have a game plan. We know where we want to go, and we like our team right now."

The Celtics' Paul Pierce said he is unconcerned about trade rumors that involve him. ''I've heard them for the last couple of years now," he said.

''I think it only bothers you if you let it get to you. It's something I really don't think about and I think players should not worry about things that they can't control. People are going to make up rumors about you that are not even related to basketball, and there's nothing you can do about it. You're in the limelight, you're a target, it's business. You have to be prepared for it."

Paul Pierce will be the fifth Piston for a day.

?I?ll just try to blend in,? Pierce said after Eastern Conference coach Flip Saunders? announced plans to send him out at the same time as the four Pistons on the roster - Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace. ?It will be fun to be a Piston.?

More specifically, he?ll be Tayshaun Prince, the lone Piston starter not here.

?I like it because Paul is a (6-foot-7) forward, and I just thought that he?d play well with those guys,? said Saunders, Detroit?s coach. ?I think he?ll really fit in with what we have.

?He?ll be the decoy. We?ll run our regular plays when we?re out there. That will be the most relaxing time of the game for me.?

The Boston Celtics announced today that the club has assigned Gerald Green to the Florida Flame of the NBA Development League.

Green was originally sent to the Fayetteville Patriots of the D-League on January 6, 2006. In eight games (including five starts) with the Patriots, he averaged 12.6 points, shooting 45.5 percent from the three-point line, to go with 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 26.5 minutes per game. His best all-around game came at Florida on February 2 when he scored 15 points, grabbed nine rebounds, dished out three assists and had three steals. Green scored a season-high 21 points at Roanoke on January 27.

LeBron James had 43 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his fourth triple-double of the season, and Cleveland overcame Paul Pierce's 50-point performance to beat host Boston.

Pierce shot 17 of 36 from the field and 16 of 20 from the free-throw line to become the first Celtic to score 50 since Larry Bird had 60 on March 12, 1985.

Boston  Celtics guard Delonte West has been selected  to  replace  injured  Orlando Magic guard Jameer Nelson (sprained right  foot)  in  the 2006  T-Mobile Rookie Challenge to be held on Friday, February 17 at Toyota Center in Houston.

Of the various teams attached to Paul Pierce?s name during the most recent trade rumor season, the Los Angeles Clippers seemed to be one that repeatedly bubbled to the top.

If only there was actually some substance to this talk, according to the two players who have made the Clippers a truly feared team this season.

?Any team would like to have Paul Pierce,? said Sam Cassell, the much-traveled guard who has brought a spark to the historically moribund franchise. ?I wouldn?t be upset of getting him (in a trade).

?He?s a great go-to-guy,? he said. ?Paul?s a helluva player.?

Though the Clippers wouldn?t dare make the move now, at one point two years ago a Pierce-for-Elton Brand swap had actually been discussed (both players are even a salary match).

With a six-game losing streak raising the competitive ire of everyone Celtic ? from players to fans to the front office ? Paul Pierce is hoping the club will think twice before reshuffling the deck.

While the club is clearly not finished making changes, the captain is hoping any moves will add ? not remove ? players from the main five around which it is building. Pierce is hoping that he, Wally Szczerbiak, Al Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins and Delonte West are able to see this process through.

Though many would love to see a major move before the Feb. 23 NBA trade deadline, Pierce knows that at a certain point a deal can only add to the gestation period for contending.

?If we?re trying to go anywhere, you have to start somewhere,? Pierce said after yesterday?s practice. ?You have to have a core group of guys and then build around that. If you keep changing your core group of guys, it?s hard to build any consistency.

?You want guys to grow and get better together. My first couple of years we had the same core guys who stayed together and got comfortable together. That?s why we got better as a team.?