General manager Danny Ainge has promised Boston Celtics fans that he has no intentions of trading point guard Rajon Rondo. After sending Doc Rivers to the Los Angeles Clippers and Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets, a trade of Rondo would be the final piece to the true dismantling of the Celtics. One more trade and the team hits rock bottom. While Ainge is denying Rondo being on the blocks, he did say he would "always listen to offers." That vagueness has the Detroit Pistons interested.
Ainge is sitting in the grey with Rondo. Ainge committing to not trading the point guard while committing to listening to offers is not easing the minds of the Boston faithful. The Pistons see an opportunity and are taking it, reaching out about Rondo's availability.
Detroit has cap space they intend on using. After being in a rebuilding phase of their own, the team is stepping things up. CBS Sports reports Joe Dumars is seeking a trade to get Rondo. If he is unavailable then Rudy Gay becomes the next target. The Pistons have already made large offers to Josh Smith and Andre Iguodala and now Rondo or Gay are next.
Rondo is coming off an ACL injury, but is expected to be the centerpiece of the Celtics next season. Because of that, his price tag might be too high for the Pistons. However, he would be an extreme upgrade for Detroit. He likely will not be healthy enough to start the season. With two years remaining on his contract, Rondo will give the Celtics 1.5 years at best. Could that be enough to just go ahead and trade him?
Gay also has two years remaining on an inflated contract with the Toronto Raptors. His mediocre production could make him trade bait for the right package. An overpaid Gay for two years could be better than overpaying inconsistent Josh Smith for four years.
The question will be how can Detroit put together a decent package for Rondo or Gay. Rodney Stuckey and Charlie Villanueva are on expiring contracts that would be attractive to some teams. Neither player are good enough to be responsible for wins in Boston, so they would not hurt the team's lottery odds (Sorry, Boston fans). They also would not hurt Boston's available cap space, but Ainge will not trade Rondo just for available cap space and two bench players.
Gay might be easier to get. He has a superstar reputation but mid-level talent. The Raptors are still trying to clean up the mess left by the former general manager and shipping Gay out could be the next step. He would be cheaper than Smith or Iguodala.
