Dallas Mavericks Acquire Rajon Rondo in a Blockbuster Trade
Rajon Rondo, who has been the subject of trade rumors these past few weeks, has been dealt to the Dallas Mavericks in a blockbuster trade. The Boston Celtics have decided to part ways with their four-time All-Star in exchange for quality players and draft picks.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski with Yahoo! Sports, the Mavericks will send Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, Jamar Nelson, a 2015 first round pick as well as a future second pick in exchange for Rondo and Dwight Powell.
The Mavericks (19-8), who has the number one leading offense in the league, scoring 113.6 points per 100 possessions, are looking even more impressive with Rondo in the mix playing alongside Monta Ellis, Chandler Parsons, Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler. Rondo might be just what the Mavericks need to push past the Memphis Grizzlies and the Houston Rockets in the Southwest Division. However, Rondo, who will become a free agent at the end of the year, does come with some risks.
"The Mavs didn't look like they were quite in the same league as the Warriors or Grizzlies this season and the Rockets, Spurs, Thunder and Blazers weren't going to be pushovers either. Rondo is a risk. He should improve them defensively. He could be a liability on offense. The chemistry with the team looked great and Rondo could make that challenging. But he's an elite talent, and I think Mark Cuban had to take the chance," Chad Ford, ESPN Insider commented.
While the Mavericks are building a championship-worthy lineup, the Celtics are simply rebuilding.
"The Celtics risked losing Rondo for nothing in free agency, but now they have valuable assets to further their long-term rebuilding process. That's a win for them. Sure, an All-Star would've been a nice get in return, but the market wasn't that great," Baxter Holmes, ESPN.com Lakers writer, said.
By giving away their star player, the Celtics received draft picks that could make them contenders once again in the future. The Celtics are expected to have three first-round picks for this year's draft, three in 2016 and two in 2017.
