Rajon Rondo? On the Cleveland Cavaliers? Playing with LeBron James?
No. Surely not. No, no, no, no, no. Hell no.
Okay, maybe.
From Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon:
Seated on the Bulls’ bench for the third consecutive game was Rajon Rondo, a former All-Star who signed a two-year, $27 million deal in the offseason to come to Chicago. If the Bulls aren’t going to play him, he’d like to be traded or bought out of his contract so he can choose his next team.
The Cavs are watching this development.
Mario Chalmers is a free agent now. He’s recovering from a torn Achilles suffered last season. He hasn’t worked out for any teams, but he remains on Cleveland’s radar.
That the Cavs would be interested in either may indicate what the team will ultimately do in the trade market.
Mario Chalmers kind of feels like the more likely solution to the Cavaliers’ dearth of backup point guard depth. He doesn’t currently have a team and will be substantially cheaper.
But LeBron James, as relayed by Vardon, lamented Cleveland’s backup point guard situation following Wednesday night’s loss to the Chicago Bulls. And if he feels the Cavaliers need an upgrade, you better believe they’ll go after an upgrade.
That doesn’t mean Rondo is headed to Cleveland, but the prospect is at least interesting. He isn’t a part of Chicago’s rotation anymore, and as someone who plays the league’s deepest position, suitors won’t be knocking on the door to acquire him. The Cavaliers have a host of trade exceptions; none of them, though, allow them to absorb Rondo outright.
To get him, they’d need to build a deal around cap dreck—which they don’t have, unless they’re willing to trade Channing Frye. Even then, all the extra players involved, likely three more, might cause the Bulls to balk. And then there’s the matter of Chicago helping a division rival.
The only feasible way Rondo ends up Cleveland is if he reaches a buyout with Chicago and becomes a free agent. And yet, at that point, if he’s free to go where he likes, you have to imagine he’d end up somewhere that would allow him to play more.
Then again, starting jobs will likely be limited, if they’re even out there. And the prospect of playing beside James, who is forever drumming up player values, might be good for Rondo’s free-agent stock.
