If the NBA institutes a hard salary cap and eliminates the mid-level exception, the Celtics would likely to be forced to build around their Big Four with minimum-salaried players.

“We’re just getting organized,’’ said Danny Ainge. “This gives us some time to step back and really reevaluate the entire league, European players, worldwide, and anticipate the draft. We’ve been doing all the little things and getting organized in our staff.’’

The Celtics scouted EuroBasket to prepare for what will be a fast-paced free agency.

Speaking at an appearance on the campus of Connecticut in Storrs, Ray Allen said he is prepared for the NBA to miss the 11-12 season if it means getting a deal that helps the future of the game.

"Nobody wants to miss a year," he said. "But I'm prepared to do what the team needs me to do, what my players association, players union team, what they need me to do, because we want to make sure we get the right deal for us."

Allen is not considering retirement and has been working out with members of the Connecticut basketball team.

Several large market owners have been hawkish on installing a hard cap, according to sources.

The logic is that the new system of revenue sharing will impact the bigger market teams and a hard cap will allow them to have more money from which to pull.

“The big markets want to revenue share but not with their current profits,’’ one of the sources said. “Instead, they want to share from the profit they would get from a harder cap.’’ 

Boston’s Wyc Grousbeck is widely believed to be in favor of a hard cap, but it is not clear if the Lakers, Knicks, Bulls and Raptors are in agreement.

Jermaine O'Neal is concerned about the impact of how a system in which the middle class of players is eliminated would impact the play on the court.

"If it's about small-market teams not profiting, if the owners are really using that as a bargaining tool, if you're really concerned about it, then why aren't you profit-sharing like the other leagues are doing?" O'Neal asked.

"So do we accept a deal that totally butchers our game? Because what they don't understand, if you take out mid-tier deals and say, 'Fend for bare minimum at the bottom,' they'll be individualizing our game so severely."

Kevin Garnett was linked to the Lakers in the summer of 2007, but ultimately ended up being traded to the Celtics.

"I was pretty close to be honest," said Garnett. "What disturbed me about the whole Lakers situation was Kobe (Bryant) and Phil (Jackson) at the time. They were at each other pretty bad, and it was a new situation I didn't want to get into ... It was my choice, yeah. There was a lot going on and I didn't want to be a part of it."

Kevin Garnett shared his thoughts on the NBA's lockout on Thursday during an interview on the Dan Patrick Show.

"As a fan you just want to see sports, but it's the business part of it that you have to pay attention to," said Garnett. "You never want things slowing that down.

"You trust no one in this, to be honest. You know you trust the players, because we're communicating and negotiating. But you never trust the other side. Because you don't know what they're thinking and they don't know what you're thinking. You're trying to come to some common ground going forward."

Garnett was asked if he believes the owners want the season to be canceled.

"I don't know. I'm not on the owners' side. I don't know what they want ... You say that and you hear that, and, you know, you don't understand some of the motives of some of this. We have a stand that we're going to take on this whole issue. I think at the end of the day common ground will be found. At the end of the day this game is too beautiful. I think with everything that's going on and all the storylines that surround our game, I can't see just throwing away the season."