A potential trade that has been “cooking” for quite some time has been that of Rajon Rondo going to the Sacramento Kings from the Boston Celtics. It’s not quite clear how certain this impending deal is, but it seems that Ben McLemore and Derrick Williams will two players making the opposite trip.

The report of this trade being almost a done deal came from sports radio host Tyler Pence, tweeting that the deal is now 80% complete and will include McLemore and Williams being sent to Boston for Rondo, who is entering the final year of his contract worth $12 million. Williams, who has three years of experience in the NBA, has one more year left on his deal as well worth $6.3 million. McLemore, coming off a disappointing rookie season, has one more year before the team option part of his contract (two years) kicks in.

Is this a good trade? The Kings aren’t exactly getting rid of players that have been crucial to them, and it feels like after taking McLemore with the 7th overall pick last season, they feel like they made the wrong choice. He wasn’t the sharpshooter that was advertised, hitting only 32% from beyond the arc and 37.6% from the field, averaging 8.8 points per game. Still, it sometimes takes certain players more than just one season of adjusting to the NBA.

Derrick Williams was quite hyped up when he entered the NBA in 2011 as the second overall pick. He never really got along with Adelman in Minnesota despite putting great points-per-minute numbers, and his trade to Sacramento didn’t really change the perception of him being a player that teams aren’t quite sure what to do with and in what position to play him.

Rondo, obviously, is the more interesting piece here. It’s hard to believe the Kings will be willing to make this deal without getting some sort of assurance that Rondo isn’t going to bail on them at the end of next season. But the Celtics might be looking to get more, especially when they already have a prospect shooting guard in James Young. And are they so in-love with Marcus Smart, who wasn’t exactly tearing it up during Summer League, to let go of Rondo?

The Celtics know that his is another lost season, aka a rebuild, not a tank (yeah, right). Rondo won’t be staying with them after this, and they’re hoping that it’ll be possible to at least get something out of him now, even though his stock has taken a major hit due to the injuries and his perceived personality “flaws” making him less than the perfect teammate these days. The Kings are tired of being on the rebuild, and getting Rondo to team up with Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins should mean they need to be taken a lot more seriously.

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