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?

The Richard Jefferson trade was aimed at giving the Bucks more financial flexibility to re-sign Ramon Sessions and/or Charlie Villanueva. (Duh.)

The Cavs are said to be targeting Villanueva, a young and talented power forward, as an option to get younger on their front line depth. It was believed that the Bucks might be willing to let Villaneuva go because of their deep salary commitments. Now those have been eased.

If the Cavs are scheming to get by the Magic, Villanueva could really help. He’s not a great defender, but he’s similar to Rashard Lewis and would potentially be a pretty good matchup in another Cavs/Magic series. He’s also a terrific scorer who could ease some of the burden that LeBron is carrying. However, if the Bucks go with a point guard at #10, which is a strong possibility, there’s a good chance that they’ll re-sign Villanueva. If Jordan Hill slips to #10, or the Bucks go with someone like DeJuan Blair, it might be a signal that Charlie V is available.

Regardless, the Bucks would be nuts not to bring Ramon Sessions back, assuming he doesn’t get a crazy offer from another team.

T-Wolves looking to move up?

Minnesota acquired the No. 5 pick in a trade with Washington Tuesday. Now, there’s talk the Timberwolves will try to package that pick, along with their No. 6 pick, and send them to Memphis for the No. 2 overall selection.

Only Andy Katz said yesterday that the T-Wolves plan to keep both picks.

There has been some talk about Minnesota trading #5 and #18 to the Thunder for the #3 pick to select Ricky Rubio if he’s available. This would give OKC an opportunity to get another solid prospect at #18 (B.J. Mullens?) if they were interested in James Harden. If the first two picks are Blake Griffin and Hasheem Thabeet, then the Thunder could trade down to #5 knowing that Sacramento is unlikely to draft Harden at #4 since they already have a great shooting guard in Kevin Martin. The T-Wolves could then take Tyreke Evans or Stephen Curry (who could both play off guard) at #6.

Knicks and Thunder working on a deal?

The New York Knicks, who currently have the eighth overall pick, are trying to acquire the No. 3 pick from Oklahoma City. The Knicks are targeting Curry, whose dad, Dell, played for the Bucks during the 1998-99 season.

The Knicks can’t trade David Lee or Nate Robinson until July because any deals involving restricted free agents have to be part of a sign-and-trade, so it’s not clear how New York intends to move up.

Now is the time when major smoke is blowing, so says Ric Bucher.

This is usually when major smoke is blown. OKC now wants Rubio, Sac now off Rubio, Mem likes Tyreke. Teams rarely change course this late.

I have been noticing that teams are suddenly interested in players they weren’t all that interested in for the last few weeks. It makes sense. If OKC wants Harden but says it wants Rubio, then that encourages a team to trade up to #2 to take Rubio, leaving Harden at #3.