The Boston Celtics have made point guard Rajon Rondo available in trade discussions this week even though he's going to miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, ESPN's Chris Broussard reports. Signed through 2015, anyone looking to acquire Rondo would be adding an asset for seasons beyond this one.
NBA trade rumors: Rajon Rondo reportedly available
The Celtics are reportedly willing to deal their cornerstone point guard. Will Rajon Rondo be the big name traded on Thursday?
Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
One of the league’s best players when healthy, it’s difficult to imagine the Celtics trading away arguably their most valuable asset when he’s not healthy, but Broussard seems to be banging this drum pretty loudly. One still needs to take these reports with a grain of salt, but as the ESPN writer wrote this morning, “Rival GMs insist Rondo’s available.”
Those rival GM’s may not necessarily be in the loop, though, as Rondo’s agent says that Celtics general manager Danny Ainge told him Wednesday the point guard wouldn’t be traded this week, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick.
For the most part, the Celtics have downplayed the possibility of making any trades this week given how well the team has played in Rondo’s absence, but it appears that sources around the league expect some action. “They’ve been putting a lot of different things out there, and you’d have to think at least one of them is going to come through,” one source told Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
Broussard wonders whether the Celtics could put together a deal centered around Rondo and/or Jeff Green that would entice the Atlanta Hawks to deal forward Josh Smith, but the Hawks already have a young point guard in Jeff Teague and Green's contact makes him somewhat unappealing.
Even if the Celtics don't trade Rondo, things could still change in Boston this week if the likes of Paul Pierce and/or Kevin Garnett are dealt. Over at CelticsBlog, a scenario is imagined where both of those veterans are traded, leaving the team with a core of Smith, Rondo, Avery Bradley, DeAndre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe going forward.
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