Rajon Rondo Trade Rumors Tracker: Latest Buzz Around Celtics Star

You would think, given the Boston Celtics' age, that the last thing they would want to do is trade away their young superstar.

But the reality is, Rajon Rondo would give the Celtics a much bigger return than any of the "Big Three."

UPDATE: Tuesday, March 13 at 7:20 a.m. ET -- Tim Daniels

Rondo isn't going anywhere, according to Danny Ainge. A. Sherrod Blakely of NECN passed along some quotes from the Celtics' president of basketball operations. He makes it sound like trade talks never got as far as was reported:

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"Rondo's not being traded," Danny Ainge, Boston's president of basketball operations, told CSNNE.com prior to the Celtics facing the Los Angeles Clippers. "I don't know how many times I have to say it. Rondo's not being traded."

"Rondo, from the beginning of this year, has shown a lot of maturity in dealing with all this, back to the Chris Paul rumors and stuff," Ainge said. "Rondo and I have had open dialogue and conversation. He knows where he stands with our organization and how important he is."

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This comes as no surprise. Trading a dynamic point guard like Rondo has always seemed like a long shot, but hearing it straight from Ainge should put any remaining doubts to rest. He knows how valuable of an asset Rondo can be, and wasn't just going to give him away.

Original Update

That's why reports surfaced last week that the Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers were talking about swapping Rondo and Pau Gasol.

But after the teams weren't able to come to an agreement, it's unlikely the Lakers will make a deal with the Celtics, as Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times reported on Sunday.

Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported on Thursday: "Rival executives believe Celtics president Danny Ainge would have to be blown away by an offer to move point guard Rajon Rondo."

That means with either a star like Gasol or with young players and draft picks.

It's becoming more apparent that the Celtics really do want to work things out with Rondo, despite his testy relationship with head coach Doc Rivers. He's averaging 13.9 points, 10.0 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals, so it's no wonder why. He also just made his third career All-Star team.

If a Celtic is going to be moved, it's likely going to be Ray Allen at this point. Paul Pierce is owed $32 million over the next two seasons, and Kevin Garnett is an aging big man.

Allen has already been linked to the Los Angeles Clippers (who else?), per Sam Amick of SI.com.

Amick wrote on March 3: "For all the talk of Rondo possibly being traded, some league executives have shooting guard and free-agent-to-be Allen pegged as the most likely to be moved."

There is the possibility of no one from the Big Four being moved by the March 15 deadline, though. After all the hubbub, the Celtics could remain intact when all is said and done.

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