Rajon Rondo is available. Wait, no he’s not.

While there has been talk around the NBA from several scouts that the Celtics have been shopping guard Rajon Rondo, he isn’t expected to be dealt. While unlikely, one Eastern Conference executive said the latest trade rumor included Rondo and forward Brian Scalabrine going to Memphis for guard Mike Conley and swingman Rudy Gay. On the flip side, one NBA GM said that he asked Celtics president Danny Ainge about Rondo and Ainge said he didn’t want to trade him.

Chad Ford had this to say…

I’m more persuaded by what several league sources told me about Doc Rivers’ relationship with Rondo. They say Rivers has told them Rondo is “impossible to coach” and “stubborn.” The worry is that if the Celtics give him a big contract extension next year, he’ll be even more unmanageable in the future. So the Celtics are trying to trade him now, while his trade value is high, to avoid a very difficult decision a year from now.

While it’s true that his stock has never been higher, the proof is in the pudding. If the Celtics can keep their core — Garnett, Pierce, Ray Ray and Rondo — healthy for the playoffs, they have a great shot at winning another title. Why break that up?

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Some scoffed at the rumors that the Boston Celtics would consider trading Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen, but apparently the C’s approached the Pistons with an offer that included both players.

I think it’s time to quit dismissing all those Rajon Rondo trade rumors. A source in Detroit says the Pistons were approached by a lower-level Celtics executive who offered Ray Allen and Rondo for Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey.

The Pistons, of course, said no to the deal — Rondo’s great, but he’s not worth the entire core of the Pistons. But that’s not the news. It’s becoming harder and harder for the Celtics to deny that they are looking to move Rondo. His name has come up in rumors with the Suns and Kings. I know Danny Ainge has brushed them off and says the Celtics probably will do nothing, but where there’s smoke …

The Pistons declined. Rondo is good, but he’s not worth the core of the Detroit roster. Rondo’s problems seem to revolve around one thing — his attitude. Still, I’m surprised that GM Danny Ainge would consider breaking up the core that won a championship two seasons ago. If not for Kevin Garnett’s knee injury, they would have had a good shot at repeating.

By the way, I love that there is a “lower-level” executive in the Celtics organization in charge of offering blockbuster trades to conference rivals.

6/23 Update: The C’s have reportedly offered Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen to the Detroit Pistons.

Yes, according to HoopsWorld.

Off the record, we have several sources telling us that Ray Allen is, indeed, on the block. It’s easy to make the leap, as the Celtics have managed to develop some nice young talent around their Big Three while also managing to win a championship. They might have even repeated had Kevin Garnett been healthy. It’s not a stretch to say the Celtics would part with Allen, who has an ending contract next season, if they could add another top young player to the mix.

On the record we have an added wrinkle – one that we thought to be highly unlikely until we found it reported with a quote attributed to Celtics GM Danny Ainge. It seems the Celtics are willing to package Rajon Rondo with Allen to make the right deal happen

“He’s stubborn,” Ainge told ESPN’s Jackie MacMullen. “He doesn’t always take direction well. He’s very bright and knows what he needs to do to be successful. But sometimes he doesn’t understand what the team needs to be successful.”

Doc Rivers expressed similar sentiments, which he directed at Rondo himself earlier this season.

“Do you know your teammates hate playing with you? … The point guard has to be the guy that brings energy to the team. You can’t be the guy that sucks it away. Your moodiness is affecting us. Change it.”

At the same time, Rondo has guys like Paul Pierce and Kendrick Perkins saying he’s their leader and they believe in him. And while there is a great deal to be said for patience and seeing if Rondo will improve as much next season as he did in 2008-09, there is certainly a lot of negativity coming from the decision-makers – enough to fuel trade speculation.

Wow. That’s the first I’ve heard about any problems with Rondo’s attitude.

It’s shocking to me that Danny Ainge is thinking about breaking up the core that won a championship less than a year ago. It’s not like they had the same group this season and failed to advance. They missed the Conference Finals (and probably the Finals) because Kevin Garnett missed the playoffs with a knee injury. You’d think that Ainge would be focused on getting everyone healthy enough to make another run, not thinking about trading away two of his starters.