Celtics director of basketball operations Danny Ainge acknowledged yesterday that he has talked with the Minnesota Timberwolves about a potential trade for Kevin Garnett.

However, Ainge refused to comment about a published report that had the Celts shipping Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff and the fifth pick in next week?s NBA draft for the All-Star forward.

A league source confirmed the teams have talked but are not close to a deal.