Desperate times call for desperate measures. The Clippers have struggled without Chauncey Billups, missing their legitimate shooter at 2-guard and his ability to help manage the offense alongside CP3. (Who would have thought he’d need help?) So the Clippers have started showing up in trade rumors, and the latest one is both intriguing and bizarre. SI.com reports that the upstarts out West could be targeting one of the Boston Big 3 in Ray Allen.

Yet for all the talk of Boston point guard Rajon Rondo possibly being traded, some league executives have shooting guard and free-agent-to-be Ray Allen pegged as the most likely to be moved. Sources say the Clippers are interested, having lost Chauncey Billups to season-ending injury and lost out to New York in the J.R. Smith sweepstakes.

But the price is likely too high, as Boston wants a package that includes a young talent and a draft pick. The Clippers don’t have the latter component, though, and there’s a bit of irony involved as to why.

Well, there’s always Eric Bledsoe…. whose value has been killed with injury and struggles to recover and get time. And Randy Foye, who isn’t necessarily old… and that’s about it. That pesky draft pick situation keeps coming back as a problem, as the Celtics own the thing already.

The only way the Clippers can pick up Allen, then, would be if the Celtics essentially went into firesale mode, and considering their success since the All-Star Break and their slim, sadly narrow shot at making a run still exists, don’t expect them to go that route any time soon. Ainge is too shrewd to panic and dump assets, knowing he can simply let the contracts expire for Allen and Garnett this summer and reload in free agency through several years.

But it’s interesting to see how high the Clippers are aiming for a replacement for Billups and what the market price for Allen is.