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The NBA trade deadline is a tense time for lots of players. That was particularly the case for this year’s Celtics, whose Ray Allen(notes) and Glen Davis(notes) were mentioned regularly in rumors leading up to yesterday afternoon.

Ever the leader, Doc Rivers decided to introduce some levity into proceedings. From The Boston Globe:

That morning at breakfast, just to gauge the tension, Doc Rivers played a small joke. He called a few players up one by one, as if bearing bad news. When they got there, he told them he just wanted to say, ‘Hi.’ ’’

“All the guys who had been mentioned in trades, I thought they would get nervous,’’ Rivers said. “It was a good joke.’’

Ah yes, a classic act of tomfoolery. Nothing says "lovable prankster" like laughing at your own jokes, Doc, and at least you weren’t poking fun at the very real upheaval that an actual trade would have caused for many players.

Wait, what’s that? The Celtics did make a trade? Whoops!

I’m not exactly sure what Doc Rivers was thinking here. The Robinson trade was confirmed by media well before yesterday’s deadline, and it’s possible that some of the players Doc zinged were good friends with Eddie House(notes), J.R. Giddens(notes), or Bill Walker(notes). The NBA’s a business, but trades still change locker room dynamics and change player lifestyles. In this case, showing empathy will always be a better option than making light of the situation.

(H/T CelticsBlog)
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