The LA Lakers are heading towards the draft lottery again and while a Rajon Rondo trade is unlikely at the deadline, the team could look at making moves to give Kobe Bryant some support and if Jeremy Lin, Steve Nash or Carlos Boozer are traded, names like Rondo, Jeff Green, Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, Brandon Jennings or Goran Dragic could be targets for Los Angeles.
Rondo is heading towards free agency for the Celtics and he has been the top trade target since Kevin Love was moved to the Cavaliers. Danny Ainge has repeatedly said that the team will not be trading Rondo and that they hope to re-sign him, but other league executives have said that Ainge has no choice but to deal the guard if he isn't sure he will sign back with the team. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Ainge may be softening his stance, as Marc Spears at Yahoo Sports writes that the Celtics are more "serious" now than they have ever been about trading Rondo.
Pro Basketball Talk reports that the Lakers have offered the Celtics a deal for Rondo, with draft picks being the center of things along with Steve Nash. While Nash is out for the season, his contract is valuable at about $10 million, as it's an expiring deal and that could get Rondo to LA. The Lakers likely would try to sign Rondo to an extension if the trade goes down.
-----UPDATE--UPDATE: Rajon Rondo has been traded to the Dallas MAVERICKS. The Lakers spoke with the Celtics about the possibility of a deal with the contract of Steve Nash before the Mavs move.
The Celtics asking price for Rondo is "very high" said a league official, but that is not a surprise considering the caliber of player that Rondo is. Rondo is going to command money in free agency and anyone that trades for him will be looking to sign him or at least know that they have a good shot at keeping him after this year. ESPN.com reports that the Knicks, Lakers, Rockets, Kings and Mavericks have all called in about Rondo and that the Mavs have gotten serious about talks. Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Mavericks are contender for Rondo and that they would be willing to give up a first round pick to get the deal done.
Marc Stein at ESPN.com adds to that report, saying that the team would put in a first round pick, Mavericks center Brandan Wright as well as other players to get the money to work out right. The Knicks have long been interested in Rondo along with the Lakers and Rockets, but those teams may not be as willing to give up first round picks in the future. The Lakers and Rockets will battle it out for Rondo and if the Mavs get the deal, they could look for other point guards.
Dragic is set to be a free agent and RealGM reports that he will not sign an extension with the Suns before that and that he will be testing the market. The report says that the Lakers and the Houston Rockets will be the top two options for him apart from the Suns and that both could target him at the deadline instead of waiting for free agency, although that is unlikely. Dragic is a target for teams that miss out on Rondo and if Rondo gets moved at the deadline, whoever misses out of the Rockets, Lakers and Knicks could target him instead.
