Boston Celtics star Rajon Rondo is still the most likely player to be traded before the February deadline. Basketball Insiders' Nate Duncan reported Rondo's performance this season has boosted his value, although Celtics president Danny Ainge is still in a "tough" spot.
"It's a little higher with how he's started the season, but not much," Duncan wrote Tuesday. "Still remains to be seen if he can get a decent 1stt round pick because there aren't that many teams that need PGs and he could leave as a free agent at the end of the season, so there isn't a lot of reason (to) invest a lot in him if you could lose him. It's a tough situation for Ainge."
Rondo has played well in his first full season back from ACL surgery, nearly averaging a triple-double with 10.6 points, 11.6 assists and 8.4 rebounds per game. Despite Rondo's numbers, Boston is still 3-6 on the season and appears destined for a lottery pick this summer.
Shipping Rondo while he still has some value makes sense for Ainge, who could use the incoming assets to help bolster Boston's inevitable full-on rebuild. As Duncan pointed out, however, the problem is teams are unwilling to mortgage their future on a player who could walk for nothing as a free agent in July; on that same note, teams are also unlikely to pay a hefty price for a player who's going to be available as an unrestricted free agent after the season.
If Rondo were to be traded, the Sacramento Kings are the team most likely to land Rondo. They purportedly had discussions with Boston this summer, but the talks stalled after they seemingly balked at the idea of trading over valuable assets for Rondo without the wink-and-the-nod he would re-sign with them in the summer.
If Rondo hits free agency in July, teams expected to pursue him include the Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks.
