Consider the departure of Doc Rivers Phase II of the Celticsâ€™ slow dismantling, which began last summer with Ray Allen leaving Boston. Phase III will come this week, when Boston must either trade Paul Pierce or decide to buy him out. They have until June 30 to inform Pierce of such a move.

As for the rebuilding sure to follow the dismantling, that is contingent on what happens with Pierce. If the Celtics can unload Pierce to a team with enough cap space to absorb his salary, they will get a trade exception worth Pierceâ€™s salary, or $15.3 million. And if that happens, the plan is already in place. According to a source, the Celtics have a sign-and-trade offer ready for Atlanta forward Josh Smith that would be the top priority in free agency.

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Smith has long been connected to Boston in trade rumors, including one that would have sent Pierce to Atlanta in February. His link to the current Celtics dates back to high school, when he played with point guard Rajon Rondo at Oak Hill.

In order to land Smith, though, the Celtics need to pull off a deal for Pierce that will net them a trade exception. Because teams over the salary cap canâ€™t take on salary without sending back matching salaries, Bostonâ€™s options are limited to teams under the cap. Thatâ€™s why two teams that have been connected to a Pierce deal have been Cleveland and Milwaukee.

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But sources told Sporting News that there is some trepidation when it comes to trading for Pierce, because he has let it be known that if he must leave Boston, he wants to play for a contender. He could do thatâ€”most likely joining Rivers in Los Angelesâ€”if the Celtics buy him out. But not if he is traded. The Cavaliers, for example, donâ€™t want to trade for Pierce if he does not want to be there.

A source indicated that any potential Pierce-to-Cleveland deal is, â€œa long shot.â€

There is some skepticism about Milwaukeeâ€™s interest in Pierce, too. The Bucks were close to landing Smith via trade in February, and Smith is willing to go to Milwaukee in free agency. While the Celtics would be able to offer Smith a deal starting at $15 millionâ€”the value of the trade exception theyâ€™d get for trading Pierceâ€”the Bucks could offer a full max deal, starting at $17.5 million.

If the Bucks are in a better position to land Smith in free agency, they would not have much incentive to instead take on the 35-year-old Pierce, and help Boston get Smith instead.

Clippers soon to deal Bledsoe

On the flip side, now that the Clippersâ€™ situation has settled, LA is expected to move on to the other big issue looming over its summer: Eric Bledsoe.

Weâ€™ve been talking about Bledsoe as a trade chip since Februaryâ€”the Clippers canâ€™t afford to pay him what he will command when he hits restricted free agencyâ€”and it appears that a deal involving Bledsoe will come soon.

Most likely, that deal will send Bledsoe and Caron Butler to Orlando for guard Arron Afflalo, addressing the Clippersâ€™ need for a shooting guard. Itâ€™s a big price for the Clippers to pay, but knowing they wonâ€™t keep Bledsoe long-term, LA needs to get value while it can.

Also on the Clippersâ€™ front, now that a deal involving Kevin Garnett is off the table, they must decide what to do with DeAndre Jordan. It might be difficult to bring back a guy the franchise was so obviously ambivalent about keeping this summer. Multiple teams have expressed interest in Jordan, including Portland, which has cap space and is now run by Neil Olshey, the Clippersâ€™ former general manager who drafted Jordan.

Jimmer on the move

Jimmer, we hardly knew ye.

According to ESPN.com, just two years into his tenure, the Kings are looking to move guard Jimmer Fredette in an effort to get a low first-round pick, where the team would take a shooting guard. The site pointed to Indiana (No. 23) or Utah (No. 21) as potential destinations for Fredette.

The move would make sense for both teams. Fredette was extremely popular at BYU, and when he came out for the draft two years ago, the Jazz would likely have taken him had Sacramentoâ€™s then-owners, the Maloof brothers, not sought to cash in on Fredetteâ€™s popularity.

As for the Pacers, their bench was horribly lacking in scoring and shootingâ€”in the postseason, the team shot 32.7 percent from the 3-point line. Indiana would like a veteran who can shoot, and Fredette made 41.7 percent of his shots from the 3-point line. What would remain to be seen is whether coach Frank Vogel could stomach Fredetteâ€™s defensive shortcomings.

Small issue of Deng rumors

Looking over this yearâ€™s draft, the Bulls are surely feeling a pang of regret. For the second straight year, theyâ€™re considering a trade involving small forward Luol Deng, though it is unlikely anything comes to fruition by draft night.

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Last year, the Bulls had the opportunity to send Deng to the Warriors in a deal that would have sent Harrison Barnes to Chicago and would have yanked the Bulls out of the range of the luxury tax. Ultimately, Chicago passed on that trade and Barnes went on to have a solid rookie year, averaging 9.2 points and 4.1 rebounds and flashing impressive athleticism.

Now, if the Bulls do resurrect talks involving Dengâ€”and, again, the Cavs are the most likely targetâ€”it would be unlikely that theyâ€™d come up with a better haul than Barnes.