http://m.espn.go.com/nba/story?storyId=12049695The Boston Celtics have traded Rajon Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks, the teams announced Thursday night.
"We would like to thank Rajon for everything that he has done for the Celtics organization and the success we have experienced during his tenure with us," said Danny Ainge, Celtics president of basketball operations.
The Celtics are sending the All-Star point guard and forward Dwight Powell to Dallas for Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson and draft picks. Boston will receive a conditional first-round pick in the 2015 draft and a second-rounder in 2016, as well as a $12.9 million trade exception.
"Welcome to Rajon Rondo the newest member of the Dallas Mavericks," team owner Mark Cuban wrote on the social media application Cyber Dust. Cuban also thanked the three departing players, calling them "Amazing players and better people."
Rondo joins Dirk Nowitzki, Monta Ellis, Tyson Chandler and Chandler Parsons in a high-octane starting five in Dallas.
Parsons addressed the possibility of playing with Rondo earlier Thursday on 103.3 FM ESPN in Dallas.
"To be able to get a guy like Rondo, it's unbelievable," he said. "It's not every day that you can get a point guard of his status, and the way he can pass the ball, he's a difference-maker. To be able have that, with the combination of what we already have with our system and the players put around him, it's special. It's definitely exciting. Like I said, I hope it goes through because he's a heck of a talent, one of [the] better point guards in the NBA."
Rondo, who is in the final year of his current contract, has left little doubt in recent months that he intends to test the market as a free agent in July. But sources say Dallas, amid growing concern about its point guard play and sensing the opportunity to acquire a top-flight player it has coveted for some time, is confident it could win over Rondo for the long term.
Boston has the necessary trade exceptions to absorb all the salaries from Dallas while generating the valuable $12.9 million trade exception (Rondo's 2014-15 salary) to help with future roster construction.
The Celtics now have eight first-round picks in the next four years, picking them up in trades for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and even coach Doc Rivers as they shed the pieces of the new Big Three that earned the franchise its unprecedented 17th NBA title in 2008.
