Report: Boston Celtics in "substantive discussions on a trade" with the Dallas Mavericks for Rajon Rondo


ESPN's Marc Stein reports the Celtics and the Mavericks are close to a deal that would send Boston's lone All-Star to Dallas.

The Boston Celtics, after years of flirting with potential Rajon Rondo deals, are in substantive discussions on a trade that would send Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks, according to league sources.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Celtics and Mavericks have been discussing a swap that would furnish Boston with multiple draft picks -- including at least one future first-rounder -- as well as blossoming Mavericks center Brandan Wright and other players needed to make the salary-cap math work.

Even though this is yet another report, the details in Stein's article are hard to shrug off. Mike Dyer had brought up Wright's name in an earlier article about Rondo rumors, and he appears to be a main cog in the trade. It would be nice if this deal had more than one first-round pick, but Stein does say at least one first so there could be more.

Wright is 27 years old and his contract expires at the end of the season. Depending on what other players Dallas includes, this could be a trade based on cap space and picks. Those are two of the three things you'd like to get back when trading an All-Star, but the third part should include at least one young, cost controlled guy with potential. Wright certainly doesn't fill that.

If the talks really are close, it should be become official relatively soon. Danny Ainge doesn't like to hang things in the wind for too long, especially after the whole Kevin Garnett and Doc Rivers to L.A. deal.

Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc Spears over at Yahoo! shed some light on the pick Boston could get from Dallas.

As part of package, the Mavericks are willing to give Boston a 2015 first-round pick with limited lottery protection, sources told Yahoo Sports.

Again, this is only talking about one pick. Hopefully there's at least one more first rounder in there that hasn't been hashed out yet.

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