Report: Lakers and Celtics Discussed a Rajon Rondo Trade

The breakfast meeting Thursday morning between Kobe Bryant and Rajon Rondo appears to have been simply social — Kobe joked that it was a “mutual intervention”, as both of their teams are pretty terrible at the moment, and set to face off Friday night in Beantown.

Reportedly, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics engaged in trade discussions last summer about a potential swap for Rondo.

Those talks never went anywhere, but with the 28-year old PG headed for free agency in July, nothing can be ruled out.

Per the LA Daily News and ESPN:

Bryant showed off his sarcasm involving the issue on whether he would like Rondo join the Lakers once he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. […] “I’ve never thought about having any future teammates before,” Bryant said, wryly.

 

Instead, Bryant joked that he and Rondo had a “mutual intervention” surrounding their respective team struggles. In reality, Bryant reported having a “basketball geek conversation” that entailed revisiting the Lakers and Celtics trading NBA titles in 2008 and 2010.

 

While there are no active talks between the two franchises involving a trade for Rondo, sources said the teams did have a brief discussion a few months ago. It’s not clear which team initiated the call. Rondo will be a free agent this summer, and sources stressed that the Celtics would prefer to re-sign him. Their willingness to engage in talks regarding Rondo is merely informational at this point, sources said. […] However, the Lakers have long held interest in the point guard, who helped Boston defeat them in the 2008 NBA Finals, and sources indicate he is high on their list of free-agent targets this summer.