NBA Rumors: Celtics Should Only Deal Rajon Rondo to Lakers for Andrew Bynum

The latest NBA rumor sweeping the Internet these days is a doozy—the Boston Celtics sending Rajon Rondo to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Pau Gasol.

It makes absolutely no sense for Boston to bring back Gasol. In my opinion, the only player the Celtics should try to inquire from the Lakers if they move Rondo is Andrew Bynum. But first to the rumor, as curated by Mark J. Miller of Scoop Du Jour:

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Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak tells Lakers.com that there is definitely something he'd like to do before the trading deadline: "If there were a way for us to get a 25-year-old, All-Star, ball-handling guard we'd love to do it…but that's not likely in February. So you look at other alternatives, and see if it's better than what you have. That's all."

As HoopsWorld points out, Rondo is the only 25-year-old, All-Star, ball-handling guard in the league right now. Sources also tell the site that, in exchange for Rondo, the Celtics "have interest" in forward/center Pau Gasol, who has two years left on his contract after this season.

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Gasol makes roughly $8.5 million more a year than Rondo, which means it could be tricky to make the money work here. Gasol—at least for this year—occupies the same position as Kevin Garnett. Gasol is 31, whereas Rondo is 25 and the centerpiece of Boston's future.

Now, if Andrew Bynum is on the table, that's a different story. Bynum's salary is roughly $5 million more than Rondo's, making the money in this deal more manageable. Bynum is 24 and considered one of the best young centers in the NBA.

That move makes sense for Boston.

Of course, if the Lakers want to attain Dwight Howard then they'll need to move Bynum to the Orlando Magic to do so, making it that much more unlikely they'll move him for Rondo. I have a feeling the only way the Lakers are going to move Bynum is for Howard, so all of this Rondo for Bynum business could be for naught.

I simply can't see how bringing in Gasol is a logical move for the Celtics. If you can make a good argument for why that would be a smart move for the Celtics, I would love to hear from you in the comments.

The only thing I can come up with is they bring in Gasol and let Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Jermaine O'Neal sign elsewhere in the offseason to clear cap space. Then, somehow convince Dwight Howard and Deron Williams to sign with them via free agency and put together a starting lineup of Howard, Gasol, Paul Pierce, Deron Williams and a shooting guard to be determined.

However, there are a lot of variables that would need to fall into place for a team to justify trading their young stud at point guard.

For now, I say this rumor is utter hogwash.

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