Report indicates players with Indiana ties traded for each other

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A report of a pending NBA trade didn't involve the Indiana Pacers, but it certainly would catch the eyes of basketball fans across the Hoosier State.

ESPN reported Thursday afternoon that the Boston Celtics were working on a deal to obtain Courtney Lee from the Houston Rockets in exchange for three players and a future draft pick. Of the three players that the Celtics would sebnd to Houston, two are the Celtics' 2011 draft choices from Purdue, JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore.

In another Indiana twist, Lee played at Pike High School in Indianapolis before playing at Western Kentucky University.

Lee averaged 11.4 points in 30.3 minutes per game last season and shot 40.1 percent beyond the 3-point arc in 58 appearances, including 26 starts.

Johnson, Moore and Williams all were absent from the Celtics' summer league game in Las Vegas against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.

ESPN reported that Johnson was never seen in the arena, while Moore and Williams arrived with the team but eventually left the floor during warm-ups. Moore and Williams each shared a one-on-one conversation with Celtics coach Doc Rivers in the tunnel next to Boston's locker room before departing the arena.

nssports@news-sentinel.com