Nobody knows if Rajon Rondo has really asked the Boston Celtics to trade him. For what it’s worth, the former Kentucky star says he made no such comment and that he expects to remain with the only franchise he’s ever known moving forward.
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That said, it would be difficult to begrudge Rajon Rondo for making such a request given his soon to be expiring contract and the state of the Boston Celtics franchise.
Currently in a rebuilding mode, the Celtics are still a few years away from competing in the Eastern Conference. Understandably, it’s doubtful Rondo wants to go through such given his age, so it’s easy to see why the free agent to be would be open to such a move.
If Rondo really did request to be traded however, his leverage in the situation is extremely small according to CSSNE.com.
"Of the players who have been rumored to want out in recent years, players who were looking to avoid playing for a struggling team (yup, talkin’ about you, Kevin Love), few have had as little leverage as Rondo has at this point.It has little to do with the ACL injury he had in 2013, or the reported run-ins with former coach Doc Rivers.It has more to do with the circumstances throughout the league and with the Celtics roster."
The problem for both the Boston Celtics and Rajon Rondo is that he’s nothing more than a one-year rental player at this point. If Boston waits to make a move closer to the deadline, that makes the All-Star point guard nothing more than a couple month rental. Add in the past injury and the question mark surrounding Rondo’s ‘unique’ personality and you don’t exactly have the most enviable of situations for a potential trade.