It's up in the air whether Rajon Rondo will finish the season as a Boston Celtic. Basketball Insiders' Alex Kennedy, though, still believes a Rondo trade will happen before the February deadline.
Rondo has always been the subject of trade rumors, but his expiring contract makes the possibility of a trade even more likely to occur this season. While Rondo and Celtics president Danny Ainge have said all the right things publically, many - including Kennedy - still believe a trade is imminent.
"Unless Boston is able to land a star player who would persuade Rajon Rondo to sign a new long-term deal (like Kevin Love could've done), then Rondo is likely gone," he wrote Wednesday. "As I said earlier, he's at the stage of his career where he wants to contend and he's not going to be patient as Boston rebuilds with young guys. I don't think the two sides would part ways next summer, I think they would be parting ways in February before the trade deadline. It doesn't make sense for Boston to hold onto Rondo and likely lose him for nothing next offseason when they could trade him and get some assets back.
"Indiana, Houston, Dallas, New York, Detroit and Sacramento are the teams that come to mind who could use Rondo."
Rondo has said he wants to stay in Boston, and if Ainge is willing to give him a max contract in July, then it's possible he stays put. But to Kennedy's point, Boston needs another star. If Rondo isn't enough of a draw for a big-name star to come aboard, then Ainge is looking at a full top-to-bottom rebuild and it'd make sense for him to ship off Rondo for assets.
