Rajon Rondo Rumors: Sacramento Kings Still Interested?
By Evan Massey
The Boston Celtics have been rumored to be interested in moving star point guard Rajon Rondo all offseason long, but he is still on the roster as the season gets underway. There have been plenty of rumors involving quite a few different teams, but the Sacramento Kings have been one of the teams that his name has been linked to for the majority of the offseason.
Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders still believes that Rondo will be traded before the deadline, and he views the Kings as a potential landing spot.
"“It’s hard to say where he’ll land this early in the season, but I think the Kings are possibility. Pete D’Alessandro has been super aggressive since taking over as GM of the Kings and they’ve been linked to Rondo before. I think they like the idea of a Rondo, Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins trio. The question is, would Rondo re-sign with Sacramento after the season? If not, that may not Sacramento out of the sweepstakes since it’s unlikely they give up significant pieces to have Rondo as a rental.”"
Rondo was able to come back and play in 30 regular season games last year for the Celtics coming off of a torn ACL. He looked like he was completely healthy, and put up very solid numbers in those 30 appearances. Take a look at his statistics for those 30 games that he played last year:
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/29/2014.
Needless to say, Rondo is still a very intriguing trade option for teams that need a point guard. Sacramento signed Darren Collison this past offseason, but would love to have an even better playmaker. They have the necessary young pieces to pull off a trade with Boston, but the Celtics have asking for a very steep price in trade talks so far.
It would be a fun squad to watch if Rondo joined both DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay, but it would all depend on the price. The Kings could part ways with Ben McLemore, Nik Stauskas, Collison, and a few more pieces if need be, but they can’t afford to overpay. While acquiring a star point guard like Rondo would be nice, it simply wouldn’t be worth it to trade away all of the young talent that they have compiled.
Boston would like want at least one of the Kings’ young wing players in McLemore and Stauskas, and they likely would want a pick or two as well. Sacramento should continue to monitor the Rondo situation, but they can’t afford to throw a big offer Boston’s way.
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There will be plenty more Rondo rumors popping up throughout the course of the year up until the deadline, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Celtics end up moving him. They would rather trade him and get some value rather than let him walk away in free agency.
That being said, the Kings are a team to watch and are likely the most interested team in acquiring Rondo at this point in time. Expect to hear more about the Kings pursuing Rondo in the future.