The Sacramento Kings are reportedly pushing to get former Oak Hill teammates Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics and Josh Smith of the Detroit Pistons, a source close to situation reported on Wednesday.
The Kings have been trying to form a competitive team since the arrival of new owner Vivek Ranadive. The franchise made a big trade last year by bringing over Rudy Gay from the Toronto Raptors and re-signed big man DeMarcus Cousins to a five-year deal.
Now, the Kings want to complete the nucleus of their championship-contending team, and its executives believed Smith and Rondo are the missing pieces to the puzzle.
The former Oak Hill buddies have been the hottest names on the trade rumors mill for a while now, making their NBA reunion very much a possibility.
According to sources, the Kings will attempt to get Smith first from the Detroit Pistons by trading Jason Thompson and Derrick Williams, but head coach and chief of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy apparently wanted more from the deal.
"Sources say that Smith being swapped in exchange for the combination of Sacramento's Jason Thompson and Derrick Williams is one trade construction that the teams have discussed," according to a trade rumor entry on ESPN Boston last June.
"Although one source insisted Tuesday that no deal is imminent, another source told ESPN.com that the teams have continued to exchange proposals, with Williams potentially being replaced by another Kings player such as Jason Terry (already traded to the Rockets) or Carl Landry."
The Kings' management believed getting Smith first will give them more leverage in pursuing another elite player in Rondo, who recently asked the Celtics to trade him.
Rondo, who still averaged 11.7 points, 9.8 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game despite coming off an ACL injury, is apparently tired of waiting for the Celtics to become a championship contender again with so many youngsters in the roster.
Kings beat writer Tyler Spence reported last week of a trade deal between the Kings and the Celtics. Spence said sources told him that the Kings were on the verge of trading for Rondo before they backed out after getting a confirmation that he won't re-sign.
"Kings and Celtics had trade in place that was supposed to be completed this week sending Rondo to Kings. Kings officially back out," Spence reported.
Perhaps, the only way the Kings could make Rondo say yes to extension is to work out a deal first for Smith. Other than that, it seems the Kings would stick with their current lineup and hope for luck again in the next draft lottery.
Despite seeing their plan foiled several times now, the Kings are expected to make another aggressive move between now and February's trade deadline. After all, they still have plenty of some draft picks and assets in the stash to finally pull off a deal for Rondo and Smith.
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