The Boston Celtics have been rumored in trade talks all offseason regarding Rajon Rondo after dealing away Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets and while the team has been slow to do anything regarding the point guard yet, one team that could fit in with a deal is the Sacramento Kings.
The Celtics have a number of options with a deal for Rondo and according to Bill Simmons and Grantland.com, the NBA trade machine shows that a deal between the two could work, especially after Sacramento traded away point guard Tyreke Evans to the New Orleans Pelicans. Simmons writes that the money could fit between the two teams after the Kings offloaded Evans and signed Carl Landry, as the team could take on the $30.3 million contract of Wallace along with Rondo and Jordan Crawford's expiring deal in exchange for a number of players, including point guard Grevis Vasquez, Jimmer Fredette, John Salmons' expiring deal and an unprotected no. 1 pick in 2014.
The deal could also include Patrick Patterson's expiring deal and would bring an elite point guard to pair with DeMarcus Cousins in the future as they try to extend him on a contract this season. The team is still torn on what to do with Cousins, as they could extend him or let him be a free agent and them try to re-sign him, but if they want to keep him in Cali, a Rondo deal could help make that happen.
The Detroit Pistons were rumored as a team that Boston was looking at to deal Rondo and now that Brandon Jennings has been traded there, obviously that is not going down. That original deal may have included names like Rodney Stuckey, Andre Drummond and/or Charlie Villanueva and while those talks did not move far, it could be a blueprint for what happens next. While the Kings deal obviously is a long shot at best, the fact that the money could fit means it's something to consider, especially with the Celtics having Avery Bradley waiting in the wings behind Rondo.
The Celtics have said they want to keep Rondo, but if the right deal comes along that could sway their decision making. Evans was with the Kings for four seasons and was a solid point guard, but there was an element missing to his game that Rondo has and the fact that the Kings made the move with Evans shows that they weren't totally sold on him as the franchise point guard. The team traded him to the Pelicans for Greivis Vasquez in a three-team deal and the team also signed Carl Landry this summer to a free agent contract.
The team has high hopes for McLemore, but after watching him hoist up shots like it was nobody's business in the summer league, they might want some Rondo instead. The team was looking at possibly signing Greg Oden or Timofey Mozgov on the free agent market, but with Mozgov sticking to the Nuggets and Oden picking between the Heat and the Pelicans, they could try to get a big man in the deal with Boston if they choose. The team has a new coach, GM and owner and this season they are looking for a new identity while building around Cousins.
