After making somewhat of a statement last week with the trades of three players, including Brandon Knight, to Milwaukee for point guard Brandon Jennings, the Detroit Pistons are rumored to still be in pursuit of Celtics All-Star Rajon Rondo.
According to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe: "In fact, they could eventually use Jennings as a tradechip and seek to acquire Rondo. There are going to be several interested parties in Rondo, and that number could increase when he shows he's fully recovered from anterior cruciate ligament surgery."
However, once Jennings actually inks his deal with the Pistons and it goes through, Detroit won't be able to actually make a deal on him until mid-December. But his new deal is considered manageable in many NBA circles.
Now as for Rondo, who suffered an ACL tear in January, many consider the Celtics to be in rebuilding mode and are believed to be seeking a high draft pick next summer. This will give the Pistons some leverage as they'll now have some time to see if Rondo is recovered around the time they'll be able to make a deal for the All-Star in exchange for the newly acquired Jennings.
Rondo, who currently has two years remaining on his $25 million contract, is widely considered now as the central cornerstone of the Celtics with forward Paul Pierce and center Kevin Garnett being moved to the Brooklyn Nets earlier this week.
President of basketball operations Danny Ainge told reporters the club is planning to build around Rondo and he will not be traded. When asked if he was comfortable with Rondo being the team's centerpiece, Ainge said: "Yes we are. There's guys we're not looking to move right now."
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