Brad Stevens reiterated to the media on Saturday that Gordon Hayward will not return this season.

There has been speculation about the possibility of Hayward playing again this season as he recovers from his ankle injury suffered on opening night.

While the Celtics received an injured player exception, Hayward would be eligible to return if medically cleared.

Hayward is still weeks away from traveling with the Celtics.

Marcus Smart has been out of the Celtics' lineup for the past four weeks after punching a glass picture frame in a Los Angeles hotel room.

Smart was rushed to the hospital with a shard of glass still sticking out of his right hand.

“They pulled a glass piece out of the palm of my hand about that size (between two and three inches),” he said as he estimated the length with his index finger and his thumb. “They said there were two tendons that ran along the pinkie area. The glass was sitting right in between them. They were like: ‘You should play the lotto because you missed your tendons.’ They don’t understand [how I missed them].

“I thank God for that every day. It could have been worse. I’m glad it’s not.”

Smith was cleared to practice on Wednesday.

“I was devastated,” Smart said of missing 11 games with the injury that he said required 20 stitches to close. “Just from the fact that I couldn’t do anything to go out there and help.

“I’m a competitor. It’s one thing to sit on the bench because of something that happened that you couldn’t control. It’s another when it’s something you can control. I felt like I let my team down.”

LaMarcus Aldridge and Al Horford were the final selections by LeBron James and Stephen Curry in the 2018 NBA All-Star draft.

"I'm not a flashy player," Aldridge said. "That's OK.

"We're all All-Stars, so, at the end of the day, we should be thankful to be here. Picked first, picked last, it doesn't matter. We're all competitive, too. It won't be the easiest thing to be picked last, but at the end of the day, you're just happy to be here."

Team LeBron held the first and final picks in the draft.

Said Curry: "I think the draft itself would be amazing on TV just to hear the back-and-forth between the captains and see how the teams fill out. But we have to protect our guys' [dignity]. That's the biggest thing."

The Boston Celtics will consider changing their lineup after the All-Star break. Boston has lost nine of their past 15 games.

"It's going to be a tough ending if we don't change a little bit, and I'll look at what I can change, as well," a visibly discouraged Stevens said after Wednesday's loss. "I think we're probably due for some of that."

The Celtics stood pat at the trade deadline.

Stevens has suggested throughout the season that the Celtics may not be as good as their record has indicated.

"I don't think we're all that we were cracked up to be during our 16-game winning streak, and it's probably hit us more in the last month than it hit us before," Stevens said.

"We have no excuses. I told our guys excuses are contagious. Everybody else has been playing too. ... At the end of the day, excuses are contagious -- go play."

Rajon Rondo and Isaiah Thomas were ejected from Wednesday's win by the Pelicans over the Lakers.

Rondo aggressively hounded Thomas' every move, even during stoppage in play late in the first quarter, before the two had to be separated and were tossed with 33.3 seconds left.

Thomas claimed Rondo brought up the video tribue the Celtics had planned for him earlier this season, which coincided with Paul Pierce's jersey retirement.

Rondo spoke publicly about his displeasure with the Celtics honoring Thomas.

"What has he done?" Rondo told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in January. When told that Thomas led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference finals last season, Rondo said, "Oh, that's what we celebrate around here?"

"This is the Boston Celtics," Rondo said. "This isn't the Phoenix Suns. No disrespect to any other organization, but you don't hang conference titles. Do we hang going to the conference finals? What do we hang here?"

"Whatever reason, he's an upset guy about me," Thomas said after Wednesday's game. "I don't know what it is, but it's fine. He kept bringing the tribute up, when I was the one that shut the tribute down. I'm far past that. ... For me to be ejected was uncalled for."

Thomas said he didn't know whether there was any other history with Rondo.

"I mean, my team beat his team in the playoffs last year," Thomas said, referring to the Celtics beating the Chicago Bulls 4-2 in the first round last postseason. "Maybe that is what's wrong. I don't know. There's nothing. Nothing should've made that escalate like it did. He already had his agenda written down right when I checked into the game. It was obvious. He picked me up full court, trying to be physical.

"I don't know what was going on with him. I don't know why I got thrown out. I don't want to comment too much on it. ... It was obvious what was going on. He was being too aggressive for whatever reason, and he also hit me in the face three times. At some point, as a human, if no one is going to protect me, I got to protect myself, and that is when I spoke up and got upset. I hope the NBA figures something out with that, because it was wrong for me to be ejected."

While there has been increasing speculation that Gordon Hayward may return from his ankle injury this season, it has not been discussed between Hayward and Brad Stevens.

Hayward suffered his lower leg injury on opening night and subsequently underwent major surgery.

“My mindset is he’s not coming back," said Stevens. "That’s the way we’ve approached it. Gordon and I have never had a conversation about him coming back.”

The Celtics were granted an injured player exception for Hayward, which means a doctor ruled Hayward is unlikely to return this season.

The Boston Celtics have signed center Greg Monroe, the team announced today. 

Waived by Phoenix on Feb. 1 after being acquired by the Suns via a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov. 7, Monroe is averaging 10.4 points (60.1% FG), 7.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 21.8 minutes in 25 games (14 starts) this season. The New Orleans, LA native recorded 11.3 points on 62.6% shooting and 8.0 rebounds in addition to his six double-doubles in 20 games with the Suns.

Originally drafted by Detroit with the seventh overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, Monroe has produced career averages of 13.9 points (51.4% FG, 70.4% FT), 8.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 29.3 minutes in 563 games (415 starts) with the Pistons, Bucks and Suns.

Joe Johnson is expected to negotiate a buyout from the Sacramento Kings.

The Kings acquired Johnson as part of a three-way trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Utah Jazz.

Johnson is expected to receive interest from the Celtics and Warriors.

The Memphis Grizzlies continue to seek a first round pick in exchange for Tyreke Evans.

The Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers are interested in acquiring Evans but are reluctant to part with a first round pick or a young player.

While Evans is on an affordable expiring contract, he would be a pure rental for any team trading for him as they would not hold his Bird rights and need to use cap space to re-sign him.

Evans signed a one-year, $3.3 million contract with the Grizzlies last offseason and is averaging 19.5 points per game.

The New York Knicks remain the NBA's most valuable franchise for the third straight season, according to Forbes' annual report.

The Knicks are valued at $3.6 billion, which is an increase of nine percent from 2017.

The Los Angeles Lakers rank second at $3.3 billion, an increase of 10 percent.

The Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics round out the top-5.

The average NBA franchise is now worth a record $1.65 billion, up 22% over last year, and more than triple the figure of five years ago. 

Every NBA team is valued at $1 billion or more for the first time in league history.

“Investor interest in the NBA is enormous right now,” said Forbes’ senior editor Kurt Badenhausen, “thanks to the league’s strong current economic environment, as well as the international growth prospects, which are the best of any major U.S. sports league.”

1. Knicks: $3.6 billion (+9%)
2. Lakers: $3.3 billion (+10%)
3. Warriors: $3.1 billion (+19%)
4. Bulls: $2.6 billion (+4%)
5. Celtics: $2.5 billion (+14%)
6. Nets: $2.3 billion (+28%)
7. Rockets: $2.2 billion (+33%)
8. Clippers: $2.15 billion (+7%)
9. Mavericks: $1.9 billion (+31%)
10. Heat: $1.7 billion (+26%)
11. Spurs: $1.55 billion (+32%)
12. Raptors: $1.4 billion (+24%)
13. Kings: $1.375 billion (+28%)
14. Wizards: $1.35 billion (+35%)
15. Cavaliers: $1.325 billion (+10%)
16. Blazers: $1.3 billion (+24%)
17. Suns: $1.28 billion (+16%)
18. Thunder: $1.25 billion (+22%)
19. Magic: $1.225 billion (+33%)
20. Jazz: $1.2 billion (+32%)
21. 76ers: $1.18 billion (+48%)
22. Pacers: $1.175 billion (+34%)
23. Hawks: $1.15 billion (+30%)
24. Nuggets: $1.125 billion (+26%)
25. Pistons: $1.1 billion (+22%)
26. Bucks: $1.075 billion (+37%)
27. Wolves: $1.06 billion (+38%)
28. Hornets: $1.05 billion (+35%)
29. Grizzlies: $1.025 billion (+30%)
30. Pelicans: $1 billion (+33%)