Looking Into The Rajon Rondo To Sacramento Kings Trade Idea

What started as a quick “fix-it idea” in a recent ESPN article has turned Sacramento King message boards and blogs upside down – the Boston Celtic’s Rajon Rondo in purple and black? Could it happen? No – probably not, but it’s certainly buzzing within the fandom – so let’s give it a look.

Here’s ESPN’s initial report (Insider):

"The fix: The Kings have to continue to develop the Evans-Cousins core and make it work. There is just too much talent there to give up. For that pairing to succeed, the third member of Sacramento’s big three needs to be a playmaking point guard, who can make decisions for players who don’t make good ones for themselves. If you find that, then you can get a defense-first wing to play alongside Evans on the wing and a rim protector/rebounder to go with Cousins inside. Voila! You’ve got a playoff contender — if Evans and Cousins mature. (Not a given.)"

Their suggestion was to move the Kings first rounder along with a young piece like Hassan Whiteside or Isaiah Thomas in exchange for Rondo, but I’m finding myself struggling to get behind that deal – despite the fact that value wise for the Kings, it makes sense.

Pairing Rajon Rondo with Tyreke Evans isn’t exactly the things dreams are made of. In fact, it could be crippling. Rondo and Evans, despite their amazing talents and ability to get to the basket at will could both be considered as some of the worst shooters in the league for their position. Yes, Rondo has improved his shot – but it’s still extremely sub-par compared to his counterparts. The only plus you’d find between those two when it came to their shooting ability is that they’d be able to expedite the building of the potential new arena with their abundance of bricks.

We’ve heard that the Celtics have been shopping Rondo for quite some time (even in recent years) – but now they’re apparently “aggressively” trying to trade the former Kentucky Wildcat according to ESPN – so do the Kings have what it takes to bring him to Sacramento?

If the Kings are willing to part with Evans for Rondo – there’s absolutely no doubt Boston would be intrigued – it possibly might be the best offer they’d get for their talented point.

As to the potential offer of a first round pick and a Hassan Whiteside/Isaiah Thomas scenario, as mentioned in the ESPN piece – nice as that might be value wise, I have a hard time seeing Boston being that interested and I can’t imagine it would be the top offer for Rondo’s services – and that doesn’t even take into account the Kings fit for Rondo, assuming Evans was to stay in Sacramento.

For the Kings – it’s a tangled web when it comes to involving Evans in the said scenario. You know what you’re getting in the 26 year old Rondo, but you’re selling Evans at a discount price. Unfortunately, for the Kings, do you take the risk of Evans’ stock returning to his rookie form – do you take the risk of Evans coming into his own eventually and becoming the player so many expected him to be? Or does he continue to regress/stagnate in his current form?

And if by some miracle of a way you were able to keep Evans in Sacramento and snag Rondo for your first rounder and change – does the fit work? Or does adding Rondo simply create another problem with Evans, which would eventually need to be fixed via another trade?

For once – I’m glad I’m not Geoff Petrie, because I’m not sure that’s a call I’d want to make.