The Boston Celtics selected Marcus Smart in the NBA draft and they are coming into the offseason with a Rajon Rondo trade as a possibility and with the draft here, Smart and Julius Randle were potential targets and players like Jeff Green, Jared Sullinger and Kris Humphries could be traded as the Celts try and rebuild quickly under Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge.
The Celtics ended up in the draft lottery and got a top 10 pick once again this year and they are sitting comfortable at number six right now and they feel they have a chance to get a top prospect. According to SI.com, the team is targeting Aaron Gordon with their draft pick, but some of that was from before Joel Embiid injured his foot and now if he falls, the Celtics, Lakers and other teams could opt to draft him based on potential. Embiid was considered to be the top overall pick before he was injured and the teams in the middle of the top 10 could take advantage.
Rondo played in 30 games last season and rebounded well after being injured the year before and now he is nearing the point where he will either sign a long term contract or get shipped out. Danny Ainge has spoken about signing Rondo long term and if he can't get a deal done, he will look at trades. The Rockets have deals in line for Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik and there is a chance that the Celtics may be one of the teams that has been talking with Houston.
Rondo has been mentioned in trade rumors since last offseason when the team broke up their Big 3 with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce and now he is in the middle of them again. According to ESPN.com, the Houston Rockets will be making a run at Rondo if they can't pull off the Kevin Love trade or sign Carmelo Anthony as a free agent, as Daryl Morey has long been enamored with Rondo and wants him playing alongside Dwight Howard and James Harden.
Last season the Rockets and Celtics nearly pulled off a deal involving Omer Asik, but the Celtics would not take him and his contract money without adding Chandler Parsons. Parsons is a restricted free agent this year and his future will determine what happens with the Rockets, as they are looking at the Kevin Love trade along with Carmelo Anthony as a free agent target.
The Celtics went 25-57 last season and ended up with the number six overall pick in the draft and now they have the chance to make a move with the pick or sit tight and they should be able to get a top prospect at number six. The team ranked 26th in points per game and they were 13th in defense and Brad Stevens has a nice mix of young talent coming back and the Celtics have the chance to rebuild with or without trading Rondo.