The Oklahoma City Thunder could be a team to watch on the trading front this coming season, as veteran NBA writer Sean Deveney believed the Western Conference powerhouse could work out a deal to bring Rajon Rondo from the Boston Celtics before the midseason trade deadline.
Daveney surprised everybody when he talked about a potential blockbuster deal that would certainly shape the landscape in the NBA next season. He's talking about a trade between the Thunder and the Celtics for All-Star playmaker Rajon Rondo.
Of course, everybody's talking about a Rondo for Russell Westbrook since last season, and this is nothing new to other fantasy trades floating in the NBA cosmos. However, Daveney's proposal appears to be different, and oh yes, a little bit 'ambitious.'
The writer talks about a deal that would help the Thunder form a backcourt of Rondo and Westbrook. As crazy as it may sound, Daveney believed it could happen. It's just a matter of pushing the right buttons to make this deal fit into the financial requirement implemented by the league.
"The Thunder could be one to watch. They have pieces to shed in a sign-and-trade, and a Russell Westbrook-Rondo backcourt would be fascinating. Might not work financially, but it's a possibility," according to Daveney.
Players Involved
Boston Celtics sends All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Reggie Jackson, Kendrick Perkins and multiple first-round draft picks. (see trade machine)
Reasons Behind the Trade
According to Daveney, the Thunder are just a piece away to solve their championship puzzle, and he thinks a playmaker like Rondo could make a difference.
He proposed that Rondo should be the Thunder's primary playmaker while Westbrook would assume the other guard spot only that he's going to be the more aggressive scorer of the two. This philosophy would form a two PG backcourt system - something the Phoenix Suns used with Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe under head coach Jeff Hornacek last year.
The Thunder are in a win now mode. With Kevin Durant hitting the free-agency market in two years, OKC management should pull off the best deals out there to finally put that elusive title in the bag, no matter how costly it would be.
One nice proposal is the Thunder sending Jackson, Perkins and multiple draft picks. While Jackson is another up-and-coming young stud and would be valuable for a rebuilding squad like the Celtics, the inclusion of Perkins is certainly brow-raising.
However, Perkins should be another valuable acquisition because of his huge $9 million expiring contract and the Celtics at this point, aside from draft picks, crave for salary cap space to make them flexible for future free-agency acquisitions.
And of course, the fuse to make this trade work is the inclusion of draft picks. The Thunder possesses all of their first-round picks moving forward. It would be hard for Danny Ainge to snub three first-rounder, that's for sure.
So, will this trade happen? Perhaps, but no one knows aside from the GMs. If things get out of hand for both teams in the first half of the season, then monitor the trading floor closely because this deal would certainly send shock waves across the league.
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