Pacers want Rondo

Apparently Larry Bird has an interest in dealing for Rajon Rondo:

As Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge aggressively pursues possible deals for Rajon Rondo, the Indiana Pacers have emerged as an intriguing suitor for the point guard, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

For the past few days, Pacers officials – and third-party surrogates – have been making calls and gathering information and insight into Rondo’s reputation as a teammate and leader, sources said.

The Pacers and Celtics have discussed the preliminary framework of a deal, but two sources said Indiana would need a third team to provide Boston with the talent it wants to do a deal. The Celtics are likely trying to gather the necessary pieces to make a bid for Ainge’s ultimate target: New Orleans point guard Chris Paul,
sources said.

It was unclear if the Pacers had begun to reach out to broaden discussions, but there was an expectation they would do so.
It seems Rondo has become the Celtics main card to deal for an upgrade to their roster. As we have known by the other recent rumors surrounding Rajon, Ainge´s main target is to get Chris Paul from the Hornets and he is looking for a third team to entice New Orleans to pull the trigger on a deal. It remains to be seen who  the Pacers would be offering, but my guess is that Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert might be on the block as they are the main players in that squad (along with Darren Collison).

Would the Pacers be that third team that the Celtics need to get New Orleans to deal Paul?

In any case, we may think that Rajon Rondo´s future in Beantown may be seriously in danger as we continue to hear about rumors concerning our starting point guard:

The Celtics have been gauging Rondo’s trade value for more than a year, and have held discussions with teams about him across the past few trade deadlines and NBA drafts. There have long been divides within Boston’s front office, coaching staff and locker room about Rondo. He can be moody, difficult and stubborn, and several league sources were dubious if the Pacers’ young coach, Frank Vogel, would have the stature to deal with Rondo.

Boston could be trying to gather players to make a more attractive bid for Paul, sources said. New Orleans has shown no interest in a deal that would include Rondo and any combination of Celtics teammates. Yet, New Orleans GM Dell Demps is determined to get maximum value for Paul, if it’s clear the point guard sees his future elsewhere. Demps has no desire to simply let Paul walk away as a free agent to New York.

Thoughts?