NBA Trade Rumor Roundup: Lakers Discussed Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard To The Bulls?

NBA trade rumors are likely going to heat up considering the deadline for teams to make a deal comes on Thursday, but the weekend was relatively low key regarding new names in the rumor mill. The same trades are still out there, it seems, but maybe everyone was right when they said Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard essentially controls the trade deadline.

Howard doesn't look like he'll be moved by March 15, but that's partially his fault -- despite requesting a trade -- considering he apparently won't make a long-term commitment to the Chicago Bulls. Ken Berger of CBS Sports reports that deal between the two teams would send Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Omer Asik, along with a first-round pick, to the Magic for Howard and Hedo Turkoglu -- but the deal isn't likely to go through.

Such a scenario has gained no traction since Chicago is "not on his list," a person familiar with the situation said of Howard. Without assurances from Howard or his camp that he'd be willing to sign long-term with the Bulls, Chicago executives have exhibited no appetite for trade talks with the Magic. The two teams have spoken, but there's "no type of serious discussions" going on, a person familiar with the situation said.

Now that the daily Howard rumor is out of the way, the hot new rumor involves the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers discussing a trade that would send Rajon Rondo to the west coast. The deal was apparently structured around trading the Celtics' young point guard for Pau Gasol, the big man the Celtics so desperately need, but apparently reached a hang up when the Lakers wouldn't include the Spaniard.

CelticsBlog's Jeff Clark is just fine that his team didn't ship Rondo out, it seems:

It is worth noting that this source is the L.A. Times and the source is clearly someone from the Lakers organization (or at least someone with a Laker-centric mindset). They would obviously have a different agenda than the Celtics sources would so this is being spun a different way. So it kind of depends on who you believe.

Regardless, the reports all seem to point to no deal between the two clubs. Which, despite our need for size, is fine by me as we've discussed at length before.

Before getting into the rest of Monday morning's rumor roundup, let's recap what was missed since our last trade rumor roundup (copyright pending): The Milwaukee Bucks placed Andrew Bogut on the trading block, Chris Kaman might get a new contract from the New Orleans Hornets (or be traded or bought out or everything LOL), Pau Gasol was rumored to be traded Friday night in a deal that still hasn't happened and the Washington Wizards are working on moving Andray Blatche and Javale McGee.

And now, what everyone was waiting for:

• Our friend Evan Dunlap over at Orlando Pinstriped Post wrote up a four-part series focusing on all of the Magic players that could be moved at the trade deadline. Yep, whether you are wondering if anyone from Dwight Howard to Daniel Orton is getting traded, Dunlap has you covered.
• Ramon Sessions has been on the trading block for the majority of the season, it seems, but he told The Plain Dealer that he's content staying in Cleveland. That likely won't happen, however, as he's worth more as an asset than he is as Kyrie Irving's back-up.
• Josh Smith is being asked about his trade request on the road now, but considering he had 28 points on Sunday night, there's a good chance he isn't going to play distracted over the next few days.
• The Los Angeles Clippers are still looking to find a shooting guard, but apparently can't find one cheap enough to fit their needs.
• Last, but not least, Steve Nash talked to NBA.com's David Aldridge about the possibility of his being traded.

Do you love when basketball teams make moves? Great! Aside from our NBA trade rumors StoryStream, we have you covered with NBA trade deadline previews from around the league.