Rumor: Boston and Houston are discussing Rajon Rondo

If you've been paying attention to any of the unconfirmed whispered rumors the past 24 hours, this will come as no surprise to you: the Houston Rockets are reportedly talking with the Boston Celtics about a blockbuster trade for Rajon Rondo.

This afternoon, FoxSports.com's Sam Amico said sources have told him the Rockets think they can acquire Rondo. No further details were illustrated, but the two sides have talked trade. ESPN's Marc Stein also reports that Houston has "absolute interest in Rondo, but that alone doesn't mean we'll see a deal," even though USA Today's Sam Amick says that the two organizations haven't even spoken.

The first person to report on the rumblings is a source from the Houston area (Editor's note: the source is not a paid media member, so take with proper grain of salt), who has connections with various NBA agents. Though anonymous, this person has been the first to report on Houston area stories such as the signings of Dwight Howard and Omer Asik, the trade for Kevin Martin, and the passing of football legend Bum Phillips.

This anonymous source and Marc Stein both say that Houston's general manager Daryl Morey is willing to offer two first round draft picks and other players to make the deal work, but not Chandler Parsons. However, Danny Ainge has remained steadfast and insisted that 25-year-old forward is included into the deal.

Celtics, I'm told, would insist on Chandler Parsons in a theoretical Rondo deal. And Rockets, by all accounts, NOT willing to surrender CP

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 19, 2014

Understandably, Morey has decided to bide his time and wait to see what other types of offers Boston received before giving in and offering Parsons. Other young players Houston can offer include point guard Patrick Beverley, power forward Donatas Motiejunas, and combo-forward Terrence Jones.

As was reported by various news outlets, both the Raptors and Kings inquired about Rondo, but he wouldn't be willing to sign a contract extension with them. However, Rondo would join a championship contending core of Dwight Howard and James Harden in Houston, so it seems reasonable to assume he would resign there.

For Houston and Boston, one issue seems to be the inclusion of a second first round draft pick. The Rockets own all of their own draft picks, but they will be late in the first round. One hypothetical solution to this could be the addition of a third team to make the deal work.

One organization could be Philadelphia, since they were rumored to be interested in acquiring center Omer Asik. The Rockets might want a player like Thaddeus Young, or they could acquire one of the 76ers' first round picks in 2014 in exchange for their own. They could then swing that pick to Boston in a deal for Rondo, giving the Celtics an additional middle-round pick in 2014, and one late pick in 2016.

Also, some type of salary would have to be included if there was no third team, which means point guard Jeremy Lin or center Omer Asik could be headed to Boston, in addition to two first round draft picks and a young player.

Right now there is only smoke revolving around a potential Rajon Rondo trade, but there could be fire within the next 24 hours.

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