NBA Trade Rumors 2014: Boston Celtics Look to Form Rajon Rondo, Eric Gordon Backcourt Tandem
With the NBA trade deadline just around the corner, the Boston Celtics are expected to make some necessary player movements to improve their roster. One of the possible targets for the ballclub is to bring in shooting Eric Gordon, who was recently put on the trading block by the New Orleans Pelicans.
Gordon, who averaged 16 points, 3.1 assists and 2.7 rebounds this season for the Pelicans, has become the latest subject of trade rumors as the Pelicans try to dump the remaining three years of his $44.5 million contract.
The emergence of Tyreke Evans as a solid scorer off the bench and the need to add more muscle to their frontline had motivated the Pelicans to use Gordon as trade bait.
"A little more than two years after acquiring him, and 18 months after matching a four-year, $58 million offer sheet from Phoenix, the Pelicans remain active in their pursuit of trading guard Eric Gordon, league sources told Sporting News this week," The Sporting News reported during the weekend.
"New Orleans has made contact with several teams about Gordon, even devising three-team scenarios in order to find him a new home," the report added.
According to Bleacher Report, there are at least six likely destinations for Gordon, all of which possess enough assets to hammer the trade. The Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Bobcats, Memphis Grizzlies and the Detroit Pistons could make a run at the explosive swingman, though the Celtics have the package to make the trade work.
Rondo, Gordon Tandem
The Celtics might be the most ideal team to make a trade for Gordon, given that they have the assets the Pelicans would like to acquire. Kris Humphries and his expiring contract worth $12 million would surely entice the Pelicans, who will try to create more cap space for the upcoming free agency period.
Humphries is averaging just 7.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in his first season with the Celtics. However, the 6' 9" power forward proved to be a double-double machine during his tenure with the Brooklyn Nets, as he averaged 10 points and 10.4 rebounds during the 2010-11 season and 13.8 points and 11.0 rebounds during the 2011-12 NBA season.
Moreover, the Pelicans will also get Brandon Bass, a player capable of giving the Pelicans more toughness in the interior. Bass is averaging 11.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game this season while giving the young Celtics frontline leadership on and off the floor.
If everything falls into place, the trade could give the Celtics a dynamic backcourt duo with Rajon Rondo assuming his role as the team's premier assists man, while Gordon could get the opportunity to rack up more points.