NBA Rumors: Celtics Would Be Wise to Acquire Pau Gasol for One More Title Run

The rumors of a possible trade involving Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo and Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol have not been received well by Celtics fans, and understandably so, but after analyzing this potential trade, it actually makes a lot of sense for Boston.

Boston isn't going to be a championship contender over the next few seasons. Even though they have a ton of salary cap space in the summer, the chances of them signing free agents Deron Williams and/or Dwight Howard are extremely slim.

The best course of action for the Celtics is for general manager Danny Ainge to trade Rondo for Gasol and make a final title run with the "Big Three" of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

Consider this tweet from Larry Coon, a basketball writer for ESPN, the New York Times, and Hoopsworld.

"

@ZHalford Rondo is on outs therenot part of future plans. Word is they think they can make one more run with KG/PP/RA, and like Gasol.

"

"— Larry Coon (@LarryCoon) February 26, 2012"

Could a Celtics team with Gasol instead of Rondo compete for an NBA championship this season? Absolutely they could.

Gasol would be a huge addition to a Celtics front court that cannot rebound well at either end of the floor. Boston currently ranks dead last in rebounding, and even though they remain one of the better defensive teams in basketball, their inability to finish a good defensive possession with a defensive rebound really hurts them against elite teams.

Gasol would help the Celtics match up better against the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat, the two best teams in the Eastern Conference right now. Miami doesn't have a point guard that scares the Celtics, but Chris Bosh and LeBron James dominating in the paint is a problem for the Celtics against the Heat. Gasol would make Boston a much tougher team to score on in the paint.

Gasol is also a very skilled big man, meaning his passing skills are fantastic and he has a quality mid-range shot.

Celtics fans don't like Gasol, and much of that stems from his battles with Garnett during the 2008 and 2010 NBA Finals. Gasol's soft play in the 2008 Finals was one of the reasons Boston won the series, but by the time the two rivals met again in 2010, Gasol was a much tougher player and dominated Garnett in the Lakers' series-winning performance during Game 7.

You know what you're going to get from Gasol every night, about 15-20 points, at least 10 rebounds and spectacular defense in the paint. He's still an elite big man and will be for at least another two seasons.

Rondo's absence from the Celtics will hurt, but Avery Bradley is becoming a defensive star and is more than ready to play an increased role in more important situations. He's no Rondo, but he doesn't have to score to be effective. If they have to, the Celtics can have Paul Pierce be a primary ball-handler like Scottie Pippen often was for the great Bulls teams of the 1990s.

Danny Ainge isn't afraid to make bold moves, and it would shock me if he does nothing before the March 15 trade deadline.

Rondo for Gasol makes sense for the Celtics, and pulling the trigger on this deal could result in banner No. 18 being raised to the Garden rafters very soon.

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Nicholas Goss is an NBA Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report, follow him on Twitter.