NEW YORKIn the first of what will likely be more moves by the Boston Celtics, the C's have waived rookies Jarvis Varnado and second-round pick Kris Joseph.
Varnado's departure was expected with the Jan. 10 deadline for contracts to be guaranteed and the C's not seeing him as a player that fit into their plans.
But Joseph being waived caught many - including his agent Chris Luchey - off guard.
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"I wasn't totally shocked, because you know this is part of the business," he told CSNNE.com. "But yeah, it's definitely disappointing."
Although the Celtics have shown improvement of late, it is clear that the front office believes they still need a piece or two to add to the mix in order to play at the level they believe they should be at.
That more than anything is why Joseph's agent believes his client is no longer a Celtic.
"There are certain organizations like the Celtics, like the Los Angeles Lakers, that have a certain expectation every year," Luchey said. "When they aren't there, they look to make changes or position themselves to make changes. You might say Kris is a sacrificial lamb because the team he's with, isn't doing as well as they were expected to."
And the improvements that the Celtics are looking to make won't likely come by picking up players waived by other teams.
Two league sources contacted on Sunday said that the Celtics will look to bolster their roster via a multi-player trade.
And now that the C's are starting to play better, the C's will have more attractive trading pieces to work with.
While it's unlikely the Celtics will look to move any member of their big Three - Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett - league sources confirmed that there's "growing" interest in Courtney Lee who might become more expendable with the return of Avery Bradley.
Brandon Bass is another possible Celtic on the move, one league source said.
"But it's not like the Celtics are shopping those guys," the second source said. "They have some good players who haven't played as well I think as those players would want or what the Celtics expected."
As for Joseph, Luchey told him to get away for a couple days and then the two will sit down and figure out what his next step will be.
And while Luchey acknowledges he doesn't know specifically what the C's next move will be, they are positioning themselves to handle any kind of trade whether it be small or a blockbuster one.
"In this business when you're talking trades, sometimes you need a roster spot or two to make it happen," Luchey said. "And clearly the Celtics are able to do that now."