Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Friday he has not discussed trades involving the Charlotte Bobcats or Washington Wizards.

"There is no truth to either one of those," Ainge said. "I have had conversations with a lot of teams but those have never been discussed. There are a lot of things I would like to do but I don't feel a need to do something. I am always looking to upgrade the team, if possible."

Charlotte coach Larry Brown could be interested in the Celtics' Rasheed Wallace, according to a report in the Charlotte Observer. But Ainge said Wallace will not be dealt.

Ainge said he does not expect any deals to be concluded until closer to Thursday's trade deadline.

"It will probably heat up next week," Ainge said.

Ainge said he expects the Celtics (32-18) to improve. The team has won nine of its last 22 games.

"We are clearly a better team than we've been playing," Ainge said. "There have been some injuries. But there is no question we are better than how we have been playing."

Asked if he felt he needed to make a move to break the Celtics' slump, Ainge said: "All speculation. It's only a month ago (that the team was performing well). We need to play better and I think we can."