While the Celtics appear to still be in the hunt for Allen Iverson, it appears that the star guard is not the only player that Danny Ainge is looking at.

According to a report in the Boston Herald, the Celtics also are said to have varying degrees of interest in New Jersey?s Richard Jefferson, Seattle?s Rashard Lewis, Indiana?s Jermaine O?Neal and Phoenix? Shawn Marion. But sources weren?t so sure the Nets would part with Jefferson, and O?Neal is said to be on the lower end of the Celts? wish list.

According to league sources, the Celtics are willing to let Philadelphia complete its check of the marketplace before making a final offer for Iverson.

Celtics GM Danny Ainge believes he may have bagged one of the summer?s top non-drafted free agents - Villanova guard Allen Ray, according to the Boston Herald.

The 6-foot-1 Ray, who played alongside first-round picks Randy Foye and Kyle Lowry in Villanova?s guard-dominated scheme, carries the curse of being a shooting guard in a point guard?s body.

?I?ve never seen someone as good as him not get drafted,? Ainge said yesterday. ?He probably wasn?t drafted because he?s a 6-1 shooting guard, but he actually has a longer standing reach than a lot of the 6-4 guys. We?re going to love giving him a chance to prove the rest of the NBA wrong.?

Sixers GM Billy King indicated that talks relating to Allen Iverson had been going on but that they weren't as intense or extensive as they were reported to be, according to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

"The calls weren't just for Allen," King said yesterday. "I think [ESPN's] Andy Katz and those guys on TV made it seem like Boston had been steadily calling them and they're in negotiations. Every time I'm looking at it, I'm thinking I've been talking to more people about trying to get picks than talking to Danny Ainge," the Celtics' executive director of basketball operations.

"But the calls weren't just people calling about Allen. People were calling about a lot of other guys. People also wanted to move up to 13."

Al Jefferson's name has been popping up in trade talks as the Celtics seek veteran help.  

"I was told I had nothing to worry about," said Jefferson.
   
"I feel the trust I have here with Danny and Doc (Rivers). They believe in me, so all I've got to do now is work hard so they keep that trust in me. That's what I've been doing here all summer. I'm having a great summer. I'm going to take it up to another level.
   
"I just don't think they would give up on me so quick," Jefferson added. "You never know what can happen if the right offer comes along for the team, but they know last year was just a bad season for me with all the injuries. They know I'm going to come back strong."

Two people running NBA teams insist Philadelphia president Billy King has been very active in calling clubs to find the best possible deal he can for Allen Iverson.

Danny Ainge appears to want Iverson in Boston badly, but he did say that they didn't acquire Sebastian Telfair to trade him.

"We didn't trade for Sebastian Telfair to send him to another team," Ainge said. "We got him to keep him. He's going to be a part of our team."

The Phoenix Suns announced today that they have traded the draft rights to Kentucky?s Rajon Rondo, the 21st pick overall in the 2006 NBA Draft, and the contract of forward/center Brian Grant to the Boston Celtics. In return, Phoenix will receive a future first round pick. In a separate deal, the Suns traded the draft rights to Spanish guard Sergio Rodriguez, the 27th pick overall, to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for cash considerations.

The Suns will receive a conditional first-round pick from Boston via Cleveland from an earlier trade between Cleveland and Boston. The Cavaliers pick is subject to protection through No. 10 until 2011, at which time it is unprotected.

?It?s pretty simple. There were four or five guys we were interested in, but they were off the board,? said Suns Head Coach and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Mike D?Antoni. ?We love the group of players we have and want to keep them together."

Andy Katz is reporting that Sebastian Telfair has been traded to the Boston Celtics for the seventh pick in the NBA Draft and one or two other players.

The trade had been rumored all day and will be official after the draft.

Since the trade was completed after the 2 PM deadline, the Celtics will pick for the Blazers

While the Celtics are rumored to be be involved with deals involving Allen Iverson and Sebastian Telfair, it may be safe to rule out that the team will not be moving up from their seventh position in today's draft.

According to the Boston Globe, Ainge said he is not interested in trading up, but that doesn't mean he wont trade down.

"I'm not interested in moving up," he said. "I've had conversations about moving up but I don't see that happening just because I think that the price to move up is not worth giving up a young asset that we like maybe even better than the pick we'd get."

Those assets include seven players chosen in the last three drafts, ranging from 20-year-old Gerald Green to 24-year-old Tony Allen.

The Celtics discussed a trade for Allen Iverson a few weeks ago and on Tuesday and according to sources that have communicated with the Boston Herald, the club is working hard in an attempt to revive the negotiations.

Multiple members of the Celtics have been mentioned in trade scenarios, but Paul Pierce will surely not be included.

The Celtics have also been interested in dealing the number seven pick to Portland in exchange for Sebastian Telfair, but they are reportedly focusing their attention on Iverson.

Boston and Portland are talking about a deal that would send point guard Sebastian Telfair to Boston for the No. 7 pick and injured point Dan Dickau, ESPN's Andy Katz is reporting.

The decision for general manager Danny Ainge is whether or not Telfair is a better fit for Boston over whomever the Celtics could land at No. 7. After Monday's workout, the top choice appears to be Villanova senior guard Randy Foye, but Foye could easily be gone at No. 6 to Minnesota.

Telfair is now behind Steve Blake and Jarrett Jack on the team's depth chart, making it obvious why the Blazers are willing to move him.

This trade, if it happens, might not occur until after the draft, once Boston sees who falls to No. 7.

Deals that are apparently dead, don't have life or never did, according to Katz, include Houston and Atlanta swapping picks No. 5 and No. 8; Utah and Boston doing a Carlos Boozer trade that was a part of a larger package with Philadelphia, with Allen Iverson going to the Celtics; and Chicago shipping Tyson Chandler to Phoenix in a Shawn Marion deal.