As president and chapter chairman of the Rajon Rondo appreciation society, it pains me to have to say this, but if Danny Ainge can get Chris Paul from New Orleans in a package deal involving Rondo then he has to do it. He has to do it for reasons that have to do with the changing landscape of the NBA and his own roster as much as the fundamental point that Paul is a better player, even though Rondo would surely disagree.

Rondo is an enormously talented player who has won a championship and succeeded as a young point guard on a championship team full of veterans who made him prove it every step of the way. He has thrived despite an obvious hole in his game, i.e. shooting ability. Think about it: How many players can take over a game without the consistent ability to score? Jason Kidd comes to mind but he’s become a proficient outside shooter.

Even with that, Rondo has been singularly brilliant at times, like when he carried them with a sensational six-game playoff run in 2010 that was kickstarted by a signature performance in Game 4 of the conference semifinals against the LeBron James-led Cavaliers.

You remember that game: Trailing 2-1 in the series with most people leaving them for dead, Rondo scored 29 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and dished off 13 assists in 47 minutes. At his absolute best, you can make a case that Rondo is every bit as good as anyone in the game, not just the point guard position.

If the Celtics had lost that game they probably would have lost that series and if they lost that series, everything changes. Doc Rivers might not have come back and Ainge could have shaken up the roster ahead of schedule.

Now there’s a chance that everything can change for real. Rondo has grown up before our eyes and seemed ready to assume the lead role in the long-anticipated transition from the Kevin Garnett-era, but SI’s Sam Amick reported Tuesday night that not only was Ainge open to trading Rondo – the reality is Ainge is “open” to trading everyone and has never made any secret about that – he’s “highly motivated” to acquire Paul.

It won’t be easy. According to Amick, the Hornets aren’t interested in a two-team deal where they would presumably acquire Rondo and another player from the Celtics. They want multiple young players. That would mean a third team and once more teams are involved in these kinds of trades things can get complicated in a hurry. (It also begs the question of what else the Hornets could get.)

If Ainge has his eyes set on Paul, now is the time to do it. The Celtics will have significant cap space after this season but cap space only gets you into the conversation, it doesn’t guarantee anything.

There are three franchise players who have the ability to become free agents after this season: Paul, Deron Williams and Dwight Howard. Under the terms of the proposed collective bargaining agreement, players have a major financial incentive to get to their preferred team now and sign a max contract later.

The rumor mill has Paul wanting to join the Knicks, but it’s hard to believe that they have the trade assets to pull off a deal, or the cap space to offer a max contract if he gets to free agency. Speculation has the Lakers trying to acquire both Paul and Howard and while that might be a dream they certainly have enough to try and land one. It’s also no joke that the Clippers have the best resources to pull off a mega-deal. 

The Celtics biggest assets are Rondo now and cap space later. Perhaps acquiring Paul would get them closer to Howard next summer when they would have the room to offer a max deal. Who knows, but getting the perennial first-team All-NBA point guard would be a major selling point.

None of that, by the way, is a shot at Rondo. The reason his name always pops up in rumors is because A) he’s really good and B) he may have the best contract in the league. He’s about to begin the second season of a five-year, $55 million deal, which will make him a relative bargain for a 25-year-old, two-time All-Star point guard. The short list of players the Celtics would realistically trade him for basically begins and ends with Chris Paul.

The last time Rondo’s name was featured prominently in trade speculation, he helped take them to the NBA finals. He had a lot to prove that year, not only because of the rumors but also because he had just signed his extension. There’s no telling how Rondo will react to this latest round of rumors but it seems clear that Ainge intends to be bold.