The Sacramento Kings are reportedly close in acquiring All-Star playmaker Rajon Rondo in a blockbuster trade with the Boston Celtics before the start of the season, a league source disclosed on Sunday.
According to Sports Talk's host T-Pence, the Kings-Celtics trade featuring Rondo is 80 percent near completion and the trade could happen before the start of the 2014-15 NBA season.
"Source: Sacramento Kings/Boston Celtics deal now at "80 percent" to be completed before season. Deal includes McLemore, Williams for Rondo," T-Pence posted on his Twitter account last Saturday.
The Rondo trade has been floating around since the Celtics broke the core of their championship team by trading Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for veterans and draft picks.
Despite Rondo's brilliance as a ball distributor, many analysts are convinced he's not what the Celtics need moving forward. Moreover, it seems Rondo won't have the patience to withstand a long rebuilding process, making his upcoming free-agency in the summer of 2015 a risk for Boston.
"I don't get the sense that Boston 'wants' to trade Rondo, but there is the specter of him walking for nothing and that has to be accounted for. If the Celtics cannot get a sense of commitment from Rondo beyond this year, they have to trade him or risk losing him for nothing in return," according to Basketball Insiders.
Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders believed Rondo will be traded either before or during the season. The only question is when the playmaker will be shipped out of Beantown, as the Celtics try to get a solid package in exchange for the All-Star.
"Rondo is considered the top obtainable free agent in the 2015 free agent class and he is likely going to command a max level, or near max level contract," Kyler stated in his article.
"It seem inevitable that Rondo is going to be traded, the question is what's the return going to be for Boston, especially when it's more likely than not that Rondo explores his options in July,?"
The Kings have been aggressive on the trading front since a new ownership arrived. The team has already made a big trade for Rudy Gay last season and is rumored as a suitor for Detroit Pistons forward Josh Smith, who is Rondo's high-school teammate.
Despite the possibility of one-year rental, the Kings are surprisingly risking it all to land Rondo, whom they believed a piece that would make them contender in the Western Conference.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
