NBA Trade Rumors: Latest Rumblings on Rajon Rondo, Marcus Smart and Steve Nash
The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are the two cornerstones of the NBA in terms of historical success and championships.
However, they have both fallen on hard times in the 2014-15 season and are more interesting when they pop up in trade rumors than when they actually take the court.
With that in mind, here is a look at some trade whispers surrounding two point guards from the historic franchises, Rajon Rondo and Steve Nash.
Rajon Rondo and Marcus Smart
Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald provided an update on Rondo and Smart, courtesy of a league scout:
"One league scout also buys into the theory that Smart — once he returns from his ankle injury — won’t fully develop as long as he plays behind Rondo.
“I think they’ve got to get rid of Rondo because they drafted a good, young point guard,” the scout said. “Marcus Smart is a franchise-type point guard or can be, I think, who needs to play to be good. He’s fast and he defends. And you don’t say that about rookies.”
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This quote from the anonymous scout is certainly interesting considering Rondo is an established star in this league and Marcus Smart is an unproven rookie. On the surface, it may not make a ton of sense if Boston wants to compete for a playoff spot this year.
However, Rondo will turn 29 this season, and the Boston Celtics are nowhere near contending for a title with the way the roster is currently constructed.
Rondo would certainly bring back more young assets or draft picks than any other player Boston could offer in a trade, which is critical at this rebuilding stage. A young core of Smart, Jared Sullinger and James Young would at least be a start, and the Celtics would bring in a couple more pieces in a hypothetical Rondo trade.
What’s more, it would fully open up the point guard duties for Smart, who was already playing defense at an impressive level before he injured his ankle. He is averaging 1.2 steals a night and is third on the team in his five games in defensive box plus/minus (0.3), according to Basketball-Reference.com.
If the Celtics do trade Rondo, they could better assess what they have in the young point guard moving forward.
Steve Nash
Marc Stein of ESPN.com passed along the latest on Steve Nash and the thinking from the Lakers regarding the injured point guard:
"With respect to injured guard Steve Nash, meanwhile, sources say that the Lakers are still evaluating their options.
As ESPN.com reported last month when Nash was ruled out for the 2014-15 season because of recurring nerve issues with his back, Lakers officials are planning to explore the trade market for potential deals between now and the February trade deadline with Nash's $9.7 million expiring contract.
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It is important to note that Stein offered this update from the previous report because the Los Angeles Lakers were granted a disabled player exception by the NBA on Monday in light of Julius Randle’s season-ending injury.
Los Angeles can use that exception to bring in a free agent, provided he is worth up to $1,498,680 (50 percent of Randle’s rookie salary) or trade for a player in the last year of an expiring contract making $1,598,680 (trades allow an extra $100,000 with exceptions).
It’s not like the Lakers would land some impressive asset who would accelerate the rebuilding process if they traded Nash, but Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders added some context to the possibility of moving Nash:
"Given the Lakers’ need for contributors all around the court – specifically in the backcourt – the idea that Los Angeles could potentially look to lump his contract into a deal isn’t beyond the realm of possibility. While there are no reports of any such negotiations currently, it wouldn’t surprise us to hear about the Lakers and Suns at least discussing the chances of a Nash return to the Valley of the Sun so that he can retire with the organization he played the bulk of his Hall of Fame career with.
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That would work for both sides.
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