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Report: Mavericks frontrunners to land Rajon Rondo; trade imminent

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The cloudy Rajon Rondo trade picture may be starting to settle, as the Dallas Mavericks have emerged as frontrunners to land the Celtics point guard, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports

As previously reported, the Mavericks would be sending backup center Brandan Wright and a 2015 first-round draft pick to the Celtics. With more details slowly percolating, Wojnarowski reports that the Mavericks' package would also include reserve swingman Jae Crowder, while ESPN's Marc Stein adds that the Celtics would get point guard Jameer Nelson and a future second-round draft pick in the swap. 

With the trade speculation reaching a fever pitch, the sense around the Celtics organization is that they've reached a point of no return with Rondo, and a deal is now imminent. Stein reports that a deal is on course to happen by the end of the night. According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, the Celtics plan to trade the assets they receive in the deal before the Feb. 19 trade deadline. 

Whether another team swoops in to trump the Mavericks offer at the 11th hour remains to be seen, but considering that Rondo has reportedly expressed interest in re-signing specifically with Dallas or the Houston Rockets if traded there, those teams more than others would seem to have the necessary confidence to pull the trigger. Conflicting reports have the Rockets either dropping out of the race or remaining aggressively in pursuit

Meanwhile, both the Lakers and Knicks, at various points rumored to be in the mix, reportedly kiboshed three-team trades that would've seen Rondo traded to a non-Texas team (although not necessarily to New York or Los Angeles). 

The Mavericks make sense as a landing spot for Rondo, wobbly as they are at the point guard position and desperate as they are for a boost at the defensive end. Even with the league's top-ranked offense, the Mavs haven't been able to establish themselves as a legitimate Western Conference power, thanks largely to their 20th-ranked defense. 

Rondo may not be the defender he once was, but he's still long, active and quick, and, much like Tyson Chandler has this season, Rondo could well perk up at that end after being shipped from a doormat to a contender.

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