I know, it's way too early to know for sure whether or not the Boston Celtics will trade Glen Davis(notes). Despite the fact that most fellow Cs fans I know are all too eager to see Big Baby go, he hasn't exactly been given his walking papers. Indeed, for all we know, Baby is more than willing to rejoin the Cs next season regardless of how much Danny Ainge and company decide to offer him. Nevertheless, it's worth considering just what the Cs stand to gain if they decided to trade him should it come to that.

Of course, any possibility of a Big Baby trade depends on how things unfold for the NBA in the days to come. With the draft taking place on June 23rd and free agency starting on July 1st, it's not exactly clear when Baby's future will be decided. Davis is due to enter free agency, and with an MLE in place, Davis could decide to go to whichever team is willing to sign him in July. At that point, the Cs might not offer him what he wants or they may take a pass on Baby altogether.

Even if Baby does resign with the Cs, there's a chance that the shrewd Ainge will be planning on trading him in the middle of the season. Then again, we could see big trades go down to get the Celtics repositioned in a future draft. Unless Baby can be traded now, half a season with Baby might be well worth a trade down the road in the middle of 2011-12. Ainge's shown before that he's willing to gamble on a short-term hit for long-term success.

If the Cs simply decide to sign and trade Baby in the offseason this year, they could stand to add a not-inconsiderable Traded Player Exception and a draft pick. It's worth bearing in mind that no trade involving Baby can unfold before both the new CBA and free agency begins, and definitely not before this year's draft. So a Baby trade in this offseason would almost certainly not see a payoff until the 2012-13 season.

If the Cs keep Baby on the roster for 2011-12, trading him before the deadline around mid-season, they could end up stronger heading into the 2012 playoffs. Much depends on just how well (or poorly) Baby would end playing with the Celtics in the upcoming season.

There's at least some talk of a possible destination for Baby if a trade does go down. Ironically, despite the infamous elbow Baby took from Dwight Howard(notes) in the postseason last year, Howard reportedly included Davis among a group of players he'd like to see join the Orlando Magic.

Taurus Londono has lived in Massachusetts for over ten years. He became a lifelong Celtics fan furing his time at UMass Amherst.