According to an NBA source, the Celtics would be interested in Chris Kaman if the impending free agent is bought out of his contract.

The Hornets have told Kaman to stay home while they try to orchestrate a trade. They acquired Kaman in the trade for Chris Paul last month but have decided to go with younger players.

Kaman has averaged 9.2 points and 6.7 rebounds in 22 minutes per game before the Hornets decided to put him on the block.

Rajon Rondo is not able to shoot or dribble with consistency and could miss several more days with a sprained right wrist.

Rondo attempted to practice Wednesday but it was a brief effort. Rondo wouldn’t say when he would return but said the wrist is at about “45 percent, but I played with my elbow at 37 percent last year’’ during the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“He can’t play,’’ Rivers said. “If he could play, he’d play. His hand just won’t let him. It’s not broken or anything. It’s just extremely sore. He tried to shoot and do things [Wednesday] and you could just see it’s no way. There’s no way he could have been effective.’’

Dwight Howard might be interested in signing with the Celtics this summer.

“Always. Always,” Howard said. “I’d always listen to a team like that.”

Howard said his primary goal is to win a championship.

“My thing is I want to win,” Howard said. “It’s not something like I’m doing this for money. I win. I want to do it my way.

“The first thing is basketball. I want to win a championship, and it takes a certain type of team to win a championship. You know, there’s a lot of teams who are great during the regular season. They play well, but it’s different once you play in those playoffs, you know? It’s gut-check time.

“Like I told the Magic, I just want to win. I don’t want a team that doesn’t know how you have to win in the playoffs. I want a team that’s going to go out every night and forget about stats, forget about who scores the most points or who is the fan favorite. Just go out and play, play for each other and play to win. That’s the only thing.”

The Celtics will be committed to just $34 million in salaries next season, which means they will have about $25 million to spend.

“I have always said cap space is a little overrated, but with the new collective bargaining agreement, cap space allows you more flexibility than it has in the past,’’ said Celtics general manager Danny Ainge.

The Celtics are believed to be monitoring contract negotiations with fourth-year free agents such as Kevin Love.

“Again, people look at cap space as an opportunity to go get a great player as a free agent," Ainge said. "But there really aren’t franchise-changing players in the free agent market - other than a couple of guys, and there will be a lot of teams vying for them.

“But it will be a different world than we’ve lived in the last four or five years, that’s for sure.’’

Paul Pierce has been the subject of trade rumors in the wake of Celtics general manager Danny Ainge saying he would have no hesitation breaking up the Big Three.

“You can’t pay attention to that, that’s part of the business,’’ Pierce said. “You’ve just got to continue to do your job as a professional each and every day. What makes me want to play well is our record. That’s more than anything.

“I don’t read the papers. I really don’t buy into everything that’s been said. I’m just more concerned about this group and what’s going on in this locker room.’’

Boston is just one-half game out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

“Just to keep grinding, just to keep going, not to get discouraged,’’ Pierce said. “Keep the guys confident, keep their heads up, and tell them eventually we’ll turn this thing around.’’

Rajon Rondo injured his right arm when he was leveled on a flagrant foul by Toronto's Linas Kleiza on Wednesday night.

Rondo landed awkwardly on his back with his right hand and wrist getting crunched in between his body and the court.

Rondo remained in the game long enough to make one of his two foul shots, then walked slowly toward the locker room.

Celtics' vice president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told The Boston Globe on Wednesday that he'd consider trading Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen for younger talent if it would help foster a transition to the next era.

Pierce was mentioned in trade rumors by Adrian Wojnarowski earlier this week.

Ray Allen attempted just seven shots in Monday night’s loss to the Thunder, but he refused to complain about his lack of touches lately prior to Wednesday’s game against the Raptors.

After averaging 11.5 attempts in his first six games, Allen has shot just 9.6 times over his last five contests. Allen's usage rating is 18.9% for the season and 16.2% over the past five games. 

His rate predictably dropped from 29.3% to 21.6% when he first came to the Celtics from the Sonics and it has nudged lower and lower in each successive season.

“There’s a combination of things happening, teams are keying in on what I’m doing,” Allen told the media before facing Toronto. “We’re not getting stops, we’re not running. It’s just a sequence of events, but I do know that offensively when I’m not involved it does slow us down a little bit more.”

With Allen less involved this season in Boston's offense, the team is scoring 101.1 points per 100 possessions, which ranks them 20th in the NBA.

“It seems like every time that I get open, Kevin [Garnett] gets open, [Rajon] Rondo gets easier transitions to layups and Paul [Pierce] gets better shots,” Allen said. “That’s why I work as hard as I work to get open because I know it affects the whole team.”

With the Celtics struggling to begin the 11-12 season, several teams have inquired about the availability of Paul Pierce.

One Eastern Conference official said, there are “lots of calls asking if [Boston] will blow it up.”

Pierce has two years and $32 million left on his contract through the 13-14 season. Trading Pierce would allow the Celtics to become players in free agency.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers believes Kendrick Perkins has changed the culture of the Thunder.

“You can see, he’s put work in his game,” Rivers said. “He has every year I’ve known him. His influence on that team is dramatic to me. You can see it, you can feel it. You can see it with the bigs, with [Serge Ibaka], they’re all defensive players now. Perk has completely changed the culture of that team, you can just see it on the floor. That’s terrific for him.”

Rivers said Perkins took defensive communication and leadership cues right out of Kevin Garnett's playbook.

“It’s very similar, and he used Kevin’s playbook,” Rivers said. “He did it by example. They say he’s hard on guys if they miss a rotation. There’s one on the floor today. He was screaming at [Kevin Durant], but Durant took it, though. Good for Perk, he deserves it.”