The NBA has been "back" for less than a week and already we're getting bombed with Rajon Rondo trade rumors. Only there really aren't any real rumors. There's a lot of crap surrounding the only one nugget in this story that makes sense:
The new collective bargaining agreement will allow for a player like Chris Paul to be signed and traded. It's widely believed that Paul wants out of New Orleans. And every team in the NBA would like to have Chris Paul because he's better than every other point guard in the NBA.
Danny Ainge has in his back pocket a top 5 point guard. Hell, maybe a top 3 point guard. But he's not the #1 point guard. So Danny, like 28 other GM's out there, is saying "I would LOVE to get Chris Paul… and I have a very suitable replacement for him."
That's it. That's what makes sense. Beyond that is where things start to spiral because of a couple of factors:
(a) The Hornets want the world for CP3, so they won't just take Rajon Rondo. They want more. And Glen Davis doesn't count as more.
(b) Reporters have different sources and levels of ethics. So some will tweet or report nonsense based on either bad info, or bad judgement.
And in this equation, A + B = Holy Shit!
If Danny Ainge wants Chris Paul, then he's going to have to get a third team involved. This is where all hell breaks loose because now teams that might not have gotten in on this mega deal might be able to get something out of it. That means anyone can be a player, even the Indiana Pacers. But that doesn't really make sense, even according to a Pacers blogger. In fact, a lot of these third teams won't make sense. So my warning to you here is: Beware of all third team rumors. Danny may be contacting them, or they may be contacting him… but all of those rumors are fraught with peril.
Also, beware of what's being tweeted. This conversation:
Random GM: "Hey Danny, I hear you're shopping Rondo"
Danny: "Shopping? Not really."
Random GM: "well, I've got player x, player y and a draft pick for ya"
Danny: "no thanks."
Random GM: "well, let me get Dell Demps on the line… we can talk about us being the third team"
Danny: "F- Off"
Can be reported like this:
"My sources tell me Team A contacted Danny Ainge about Rajon Rondo and they did have a discussion. They also discussed the possibility of Team A joining in the Rondo to New Orleans for Chris Paul talks as a third team to help facilitate the deal."
Consider that fair warning. If Random GM wants to save face, he can easily plant that seed. Or the same thing could happen if Random GM got a call from a writer…. let's call him Schriss Schmroussard. Either way, things can be characterized in a lot of ways right now. And it's an easy way to glom on to the hot trade rumors for cheap attention and page views. They can even ignore simple facts like Jeff Green being a free agent, which makes it impossible for him to be traded.
So please, let's try to separate the wheat from chaff here. The fact is simply Danny Ainge wants Chris Paul and he's willing to deal Rajon Rondo to do it. From there, it's an insane cavalcade of speculation, innuendo and misrepresentation of facts. The odds are still very strongly in favor of Rondo staying here for the season.
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