According to SportsInsights, Boston Celtics All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo has asked General Manager Danny Ainge to trade him:
Jackie MacMullan has reported that #Celtics PG Rajon Rondo has asked for a trade out of Boston.
— SportsInsights.com (@SportsInsights) August 31, 2014
This news doesn’t come as a huge shock; Rondo will be a free agent next summer, and with the Celtics still in rebuilding mode he would obviously prefer to go to a team with a chance of contending. Carrying a horrendous Celtics team on his shoulders would likely not do much to help Rondo’s value on the open market, and trading him now would give the Celtics a chance to get some value for the four-time All-Star.
An outstanding ball handler and defender, Rondo is a triple-double threat every night and would have no shortage of interested teams. The issue is that he played very limited games and minutes last season as he recovered from a torn ACL, and at 28 years old he likely only has a couple elite seasons in him before he begins to decline.
This summer, the Celtics drafted Marcus Smart and James Young, re-signed Avery Bradley, acquired Marcus Thornton via trade, and brought in Evan Turner via free agency, so their backcourt is quite full either with or without Rondo. This stockpiling of guards, perhaps, suggests that they knew this trade request might be coming.
[via @SportsInsights]
