NBA Trade Rumors: Rajon Rondo or Pau Gasol Landing with Denver Nuggets?
By Chris Roling
Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics and Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers are stuck in decaying situations with a long road ahead, but the NBA trade rumors wheel is starting to spin in a big way.
Apparently the Denver Nuggets, fresh off losing Andre Iguodala, may be a serious destination for either Rondo or Gasol should the Celtics or Lakers choose to let their stars go. The speculation comes from Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post:
"It’s all important to the Nuggets, who have a trade exception of more than $9 million in their pocket after trading Andre Iguodala to Golden State.“The trade exception was a big piece of the move. It creates a lot of flexibility for us going forward with a young roster,” Nuggets president Josh Kroenke said. “With a young roster and almost $10 million in a trade exception, it gives a lot of flexibility to make this team better.”A trade exception is the NBA’s version of a gift card. In a salary cap league, the Nuggets have nearly $10 million to combine with one of their own players to help facilitate a blockbuster deal for a star."
Kiszla goes on to details both player’s respective situations and say both could find Denver as a suitable landing spot if the teams are willing to blow things up.
Look, it’s logical to play with the idea thanks to the massive trade exception, but seeing the Celtics let go of Rondo at this point is a bit much with new head coach Brad Stevens singing his praises.
Gasol leaving the Lakers is a better possibility, but we imagine Kobe Bryant would not be too thrilled with the situation.
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