It might come as a surprise for some Boston Celtics fans that their cheap, two-time All-Star point guard Rajon Rando is currently being shopped around by its general manager Danny Ainge, and there has been some NBA experts trying to find out why.
On Monday, SB Nation's NBA Editor Tom Ziller tried to answer this question in his weekly column The Hook:
"So then why would Ainge look to trade Rondo?
The answer on the Rondo question is the same for every question about Ainge's motivation: he is not satisfied with the current state of the Celtics, and wants to improve the club."
Ziller says don't expect that Ainge will just settle on possibly moving just Rando. More players could be on their way out of Boston.
"Garnett will be a free agent next year," writes Ziller, "and he's growing ever closer to the end. Allen will be a free agent, too, and while he can shoot forever, if the team isn't contending, keeping him could be difficult. Pierce has an additional guaranteed season. Because of their ages and those contract situations, they wouldn't be terribly attractive in the trade market. Each could pull maybe a sub-All-Star young player -- KG, especially, still has pull as a vet that can whip an underperforming roster into shape quickly -- but none of them alone can guarantee the future of the roster."
-- For more on the Boston Celtics trade rumors, check out SB Nation's blog CelticsBlog. Also, Ziller's The Hook runs Monday through Friday. See the archives.