Lakers Rumors: Death of Pau Gasol for Rajon Rondo Rumor Bound to Happen
There are some rumors that are just too good to be true.
The latest one in the NBA is the Pau Gasol for Rajon Rondo trade rumor that was teased by Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. He reported that he had it on good authority that the Boston Celtics would be interested in dealing Rondo for Gasol given the chance.
This rumor was squashed by A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com on Thursday night:
Yup, too good to be true indeed.
Still, there was a little something to this rumor while it was still living. Pincus' report about the Celtics being willing to do the deal was a bit suspect, but Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak hinted pretty strongly that he would love to acquire a point guard like Rondo.
Here's what he told Lakers.com:
""Well, 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."
"
For the record, Rondo is an All-Star, ball-handling point guard who happens to be 25 years old. At least until Feb. 22.
You can see why the Lakers might do a deal like this. Gasol's role has really decreased this season and the team has been getting nothing out of the guard spot next to Kobe Bryant. If they were to acquire Rondo, their offense would really open up.
Exactly why the Celtics would do this deal, on the other hand, is completely beyond me.
The Celtics don't need a player like Gasol. Sure, they could play him at the five, but this is a team that needs to worry about its future. Having Gasol around beyond this season wouldn't solve much.
Besides, if you take Rondo out of Boston, the Celtics are a discombobulated mess. They'd go from being a contender to being a pretender in a heartbeat.
So despite the fact this trade made sense from the Lakers' side of things, the uncertainty on the Boston side of the fence made it seem awfully suspicious. Because of that, it was just a matter of time before this trade was killed off like a Game of Thrones character.
It was fun while it lasted.
