Should the Celtics Consider Trading Rajon Rondo?

The Boston Celtics are riding a seven-game win streak following the season-ending injury to Rajon Rondo, and rumors regarding the roster keep swirling as the NBA trade deadline approaches.

Surprisingly, few trade rumors have involved Rondo.  While possible trade partners for both Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce have been constantly mentioned, the option of trading Rondo has garnered little media attention.

There are some obvious reasons for this.  Rondo has a great contract that only pays him $25 million in the two seasons following this one.  He is expected to be back on the court and relatively healthy by the beginning of next year.  And Rondo is the type of talented player you would hate to see go elsewhere and thrive.

But in many ways, it makes more sense for the Celtics to trade Rondo than Garnett and Pierce.  This team is built for the present. The roster was put together for success this year and the next.  Unless the Celtics trade Rondo and get something of substantial value in return, this year will surely end in disappointment, and next year does not look much better.

The most logical trades for Rondo involve sending him to bad teams with talent that could help the Celtics both now and in the future.  That means, for instance, trading Rondo to the Washington Wizards for John Wall and Trevor Booker.  Or another scenario would be trading Rondo to the Charlotte Bobcats for Kemba Walker, Micheal Kidd-Gilchrist and Reggie Williams.  The Sacramento Kings would also be an attractive trading partner.

Trades like those just mentioned make much more sense for the Celtics than attempting to trade Garnett or Pierce.  As excellent a player as Rondo is, his value has been overrated for a few years.  The Celtics may be better off trying to replace him with another potentially dominant young player.

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