Rajon Rondo wants a trade. Rajon Rondo doesn’t want a trade. Rajon Rondo is set on playing the season out for the Boston Celtics.
That’s where we currently are at with the Rondo trade rumors. Unfortunately, they seem far from ending as A. Sherrod Blakely of Comcast Sportsnet reports–via sources around the league–Rondo’s future with the Boston Celtics could hinge on how well the team performs up until the trade deadline.
"Multiple league sources have repeatedly said that Rondo wants to start the season in Boston and see where things go from there. A similar sentiment has trickled out of Celtics camp, as well.Rondo is hopeful that the team Danny Ainge is assembling around him is better than most anticipate, that they can be this season’s feel-good story not only in the East but throughout the NBA."
This is typical protocol for NBA teams. If the Celtics overachieve and find themselves amidst the race for a playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, there would be little reason to ship off Rajon Rondo unless Danny Ainge is approached with a deal that’s difficult to refuse.
Wiz of Awes
But looking at this Celtics team in comparison to the Eastern Conference, it’s hard seeing a scenario where Rondo and company can creep into the 2015 playoffs. Cleveland, Chicago, Toronto, Washington, Atlanta, and Miami all are locks to make the playoffs barring injury. That leaves two more seeds left and it’s likely Detroit, Brooklyn, New York, and Indiana duke it out for those two.
The Celtics have a solid guard core–Rondo, the re-signed Avery Bradley, and sixth overall pick Marcus Smart–but outside of that, there aren’t many productive players this team can rely on night in and night out.
To put it simply, the Celtics may be much closer to the number one overall pick than they are the eighth seed in the East and if wins are a factor in whether Rondo remains with the Celtics or not, Boston fans should begin getting their good-byes together.