There is little to nothing that has changed for the Celtics in the past few days as the league counts down to Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline. The word from other teams is the Celts’ counteroffers to any early discussions have been non-starters.

The Celtics still are hoping Anthony Davis remains in New Orleans past the deadline, giving them the ability to go after the star center in the offseason. And, as noted here Tuesday, the most likely scenario for the C’s remains being a player in the buyout market once it can resolve the Jabari Bird situation and open a spot on a roster that now stands at the 15-player maximum.

But even that kind of move could be minor in nature because the Celtics are convinced they still are in the hunt for this season’s championship, although they harbor no illusions and know it will take improvement (mainly in the form of consistency) from where they are now.

Because the Celts can’t deal for Davis until after July 1 — he and Kyrie Irving are on designated player exceptions, and rules allow only one such player on a team — New Orleans has the far heavier decision to make before the deadline. And it is expected the Lakers will be making another push.

It is thought the wisest path for the Pelicans is to punt until the summer, knowing the Lakers’ offer won’t be any worse and that they can either take the Celtics’ bid if it is better or use it to extract higher proposals from other clubs.

But while New Orleans management has been assured the Celts will put together a large package in the summer even there are no assurances that Davis will remain in Boston after the 2019-20 season, waiting is not without risk. If Davis isn’t moved by the deadline and is still balking about a future with the Celts afterward, Danny Ainge’s offer could be weakened to reflect that uncertainty. In light of all that, there have been no hard and fast negotiations between the two clubs. The Pelicans were made aware of the Celts’ interest in Davis years ago, but it has been mainly to the degree of Ainge asking to be kept in the loop if he’s made available.

Now that he is, the two sides have been investigating each other more deeply, and part of that involves whether AD will keep an open mind if he is dealt to a team other than the four he is said to desire (Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, Bucks).

There is no doubt the Celtics would, as July 1 approached, seek a better understanding from Davis’ camp, but it’s likely that almost nothing they could hear would deter them from making an attempt to acquire the All-Star.

The Celts seem to be well aware that opportunities to compete for an NBA title are rare — and fleeting. Ainge first revealed a willingness to take a shot on a short window of opportunity when he traded for 31-year-old Kevin Garnett and 32-year-old Ray Allen in 2007.

And even though the C’s knew Isaiah Thomas would be unavailable at the start of the 2017-18 season because of his hip injury, they still made a major move (the last Nets pick was expected to be better than it turned out) to have just two years of certainty with Irving.

But it’s not as if the Celtics are in total future-is-now mode. According to league sources, they have been very protective of their younger and more cap-friendly talent, willing to discuss such players only in exchange for a player or players deemed able to significantly enhance their ability to win now.

That information would seem to coincide well with the Celtics’ position in regard to Davis.