The Rajon Rondo trade rumors could be heating up for the Boston Celtics, as the Houston Rockets may look at making a deal after missing out on Chris Bosh and not signing Chandler Parsons in free agency and this comes after the Celtics picked Marcus Smart in the draft and as Daryl Morey has long been after Rondo, hoping to make a Big 3 that includes Dwight Howard and James Harden.
Rondo comes into the season after coming back from a major injury and he appears to be fully healthy and recovered. According to ESPN.com writer Marc Stein, the Rockets may engage in Rondo trade talks or they possibly could pick up back on the Kevin Love trade, which was mentioned as a potential destination earlier in the offseason. GM Daryl Morey wanted to make a big splash this summer to create a Big 3 in Houston with Dwight Howard and James Harden, but clearly he did not see Parsons as one of those players.
The Rockets were close on a four year deal with Chris Bosh, but he ended up going to the Miami Heat to stay with Dwyane Wade on a five year max deal. The Rockets felt they had a good chance to sign Bosh after LeBron James went back to Cleveland, but he opted to take the max money and stay in the eastern conference. Houston made it into the playoffs as a top half seed in the western conference and now they may be behind where they were last year with Parsons if they can't make another move.
Rondo has long been a target for Morey and the general manager would love nothing more than to have him run point for Howard and Harden. Last season the Rockets and Celtics engaged in preliminary trade talks about Rondo, but Boston was unwilling to take the contract of Omer Asik without getting Parsons too. Perhaps Morey would want a do over on that deal based on what played out this summer, but he valued Parsons and hoped to keep him, just not at the price the Mavericks paid him.
Morey spoke about Parsons and the deal following the news that the Rockets wouldn't match the offer sheet and he said that the team was close to coming in on the deal. Had Chris Bosh signed, Morey said the team was ready to match the offer and that he felt their team would have been the best in the league had both those players signed. Parsons was a bit miffed at the Rockets after they didn't match the offer and now he has been paid, but it might have been just a move to get Houston to match, but either way he is in Dallas now.
Rondo has been mentioned in trade talks in each of the past couple seasons and now the Celtics could look at a deal if Houston offers enough draft picks with their package. The Celtics are rebuilding and this move could be a part of that, but there is also a good chance Danny Ainge keeps Rondo and opts to build around him long term.
