Rajon Rondo trade rumors seem to be the big thing as NBA free agency kicks off in earnest this week, at least if Tuesday night's barrage of reports are any indication. The Boston Celtics point guard is the topic of quite a few interesting proposals, apparently, and will likely be involved in quite a few more in the weeks ahead.
Rondo could be deal to the New Orleans Hornets in a trade that would net Boston fellow point guard Chris Paul, according to ESPN's Chris Broussard. It's unclear whether the Hornets would be interested in dealing their star player straight up for Rondo, but there have apparently been discussions regarding the trade.
The Celtics also attempted to send Rondo and Jeff Green to the Oklahoma City Thunder following last season, Broussard also reported late Tuesday, for Russell Westbrook and Kendrick Perkins. The Thunder ultimately turned that deal down, however, a move that SB Nation's Welcome To Loud City agrees was the right one.
The Indiana Pacers are another team interested in Rondo, too, according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Pacers and Celtics have discussed the preliminary framework of a deal, but two sources said Indiana would need a third team to provide Boston with the talent it wants to do a deal. The Celtics are likely trying to gather the necessary pieces to make a bid for Ainge's ultimate target: New Orleans point guard Chris Paul, sources said.
With so much smoke surrounding Rondo, a trade would seem to be imminent. Considering there wasn't a lot of alternatives to talk about during the months-long lockout, however, all of these talks could have simply been a way to get through the doldrums of the work stoppage.