The NBA and the NBA Players Union negotiated a current collective bargaining agreement that bounds and dictates the daily operations in the Association. It includes revenue sharing, salary cap definitions and situations permitting the spending of dollars on contracts and it also dictates free agent rights and status.
The latter of these many CBA inclusions is what has led the NBA to its present day situation that sees upper echelon NBA stars leaving teams for less money elsewhere, the opportunity to play with certain teammates and in ultimate pursuit of a championship.
While these are all nobal causes and athletes would be chastised for just chasing the money at every opportunity; the fact remains that it has created an imbalance in the league that can't really be changed.
We just bore witness to LeBron James return to Cleveland which precipitated the Kevin Love deal as well as a bunch of periphery signings.
It would seem that no one player, Kobe Bryant aside, is unmovable. Granted teams like San Antonio are not moving Tim Duncan and it is safe to say that Dirk Nowitzki isn't leaving Dallas, but how many other guarantees are out there like this. Lebron is only playing on a two year deal in Cleveland after all.
Do you think Carmelo Anthony finishes his career in New York or Derrick Rose stays in Chicago forever? Will the pairing of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant go on in Oklahoma? How about James Harden and Dwight Howard in Houson? I can pretty much gaurantee that someone mentioned above won't be staying in their current home, it's just the way the league is setup.
Talk has already begun of Durant maybe wanting to go back home to the Washington DC area a la the Kings triumphant return home to Cleveland.
So who will be the next NBA star to be moving on from their current residence. Will it be Durant, maybe Anthony Davis or could it be Portlands LaMarcus Aldridge?
While the possibility of all three of those players being moved is there. The next franchise type player to go is going to be Rajon Rondo. The 28-year old point guard is playing out his final year on his deal that will see him become an unrestricted free-agent.
The Celtics have a very expensive decision to make here. Do they keep Rondo into his early thirties at a near $20 million a season or do they try and pry a draft pick or two out of a perspective team. The C's lost 57 games last season and are in full rebuild mode. They won't be in competition for a playoff spot this season and in reality are looking at a top-three lottery pick.
Throw in the fact that the Celtics drafted a point guard in Marcus Smart and it would appear that the writing is on the wall for an eventual departure from Beantown for Rondo.
Trade rumours are nothing new to the scrappy Rondo; however, unless a deal gets done soon, he had better buckle up because the rumours and speculation will mount to a colossal distraction as the Celtics miserable season wears on.