Carmichael Dave tweeting some stuff about Rondo, Gay and Josh Smith being good friends...followed by a cryptic tweet. Sure hope we get Rondo
The issue is what we would have to give up for those two players, and do we have enough assets to pull off both deals without having to give up too much?
For instance, I have seen a deal for Rondo that includes McLemore, a signed-and-traded Thomas, and a future pick. Now if Rondo comes here and returns to all star form, then I wouldn't hesitate in doing this deal because Rondo is an upgrade on Thomas, and Stauskas has the ability to start at SG and could do a better job than McLemore. So let's say this is the deal that gets the job done.
At this point we could stick with the line up - Rondo / Stauskas / Gay / Landry or Thompson / Cousins - or we could go in for Josh Smith to 'upgrade' the PF position. If we do that, what package can we realistically offer after giving away our starting PG, young SG and a future pick? I would say we'd have to give up another draft pick, probably a first, and then throw in Landry, Thompson, and/or Williams in some sort of package. But I'm not convinced that package would be enough to tempt them unless they want to dump Smith and get a minimal return in order for freeing up cap space.
I'd love for us to get Rondo, and even to some degree Josh Smith because he is an upgrade on what we have at PF. We'd have big four of sorts in Rondo, Gay, Smith and Cousins. Slot in Stauskas at SG and we should have a competitive line up. Though we will likely be a tax paying team, but the prospect of that line up could help get us back into the play offs. Even acquiring Rondo on his own would give us an upgrade that should help the team become more competitive, and perhaps make a push for that 7th or 8th seed next season.