Breakfast of champions?

— -- Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers got breakfast together Thursday morning at The Paramount in Beacon Hill. Just two professional basketball players with a noted mutual admiration talking shop on an off day for their rival squads.

A couple of years back, we probably would have been none the wiser of the confab. But in the age of social media, the pictures popped up on Reddit, then went viral on Twitter. In a week, your grandfather will get wind of the meeting and shake his fist while screaming about how Bill Russell would have never fraternized with a rival player.

But in this modern NBA, friendships abound. What makes the Rondo-Bryant tandem so intriguing is the fact that both players seem to have bonded over being antisocial.

The Rondo-Bryant friendship is well documented. Back in 2013, after Rondo's season ended due to a torn ACL, Bryant got a good belly laugh when told how some believe Boston might be better off without their prickly point guard.

"You don't want Rondo? Send him my way," Kobe told ESPN Boston. "I love everything about him. Everything. I love his attitude, I love his chippiness, his edge, his intellect, his know-it-allness. All of it. That's what makes championship players.

"What guard have you seen at his size that will get you 18 assists, 17 boards and 20 points all in one game? That's unheard of. I love that kid. I always make a point of talking to him during All-Star [Weekend]. He's one of my favorites."

More recently, Bryant complimented Rondo by saying, "From what I understand, he's an a--hole, like me." Rondo responded soon after by noting, "That's a great compliment, coming from Kobe. I feel the same way about him."

And so the man who passes too much and the man who doesn't pass enough got together Thursday morning for some orange juice and toast. Celtics fans immediately suspected Bryant of tampering, while Lakers fans raced to ESPN's trade machine to figure out a way to get the point guard they often say is totally overrated but would love to see in purple and gold to help rescue the 2014-15 season.

At least this year's Celtics-Lakers matchup is getting some buzz now. Before Thursday morning, the Boston-L.A. game was just a gathering of two teams trying to avoid another year in the lottery; a reminder of the rebuilding process that each franchise is navigating with the pressure of a combined 33 title banners staring down at them.

The Celtics are trying to steady themselves after a frustration-filled first month of the season, but their future remains murky, especially with Rondo set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer. The 36-year-old Bryant says he's willing to be patient with Los Angeles' rebuilding process, but he clearly would prefer to hit an accelerator pedal before his arms go numb from all the shots he's taking.

OK, so maybe he was recruiting Rondo.

For the sake of discussion, let's imagine that Mitch Kupchak and Danny Ainge elected to get breakfast on Friday morning at The Breakfast Club in Allston (all that '80s nostalgia will make both general managers feel relaxed). Kupchak offers up a couple of first-round picks (let's ignore the fact that that is complicated by the picks the Lakers already owe) and Steve Nash's expiring deal. Does Ainge laugh him down Western Avenue, or does he say, 'Hey, let's talk again in February?'

It's long been the belief from this writer's vantage point that the Celtics are most likely to keep Rondo on the roster through the end of the season, then evaluate their options this summer. There's a line of thought that suggests Boston isn't going to attract any other star talent without paying Rondo max money to remain the centerpiece here. There's a value in having a guy whom someone like Bryant lauds on your roster. Alas, even with the potential for sign-and-trade options, there's no guarantee of a return on Rondo's value if he gets to the open market.

While Ainge might not be inclined to trade Rondo and has maintained a high price tag on him, he probably wouldn't mind if his phone kept ringing about him. Sure, the rumors will get out of control soon enough -- and Rondo will lament this spin through the rumor mill -- but it's better to have buzz around your star player than not to.

Ultimately, all Thursday's breakfast snapshot did was hammer home how much more fun it is when the Celtics and Lakers are title contenders and not trudging their way through the uncertainty of rebuilds. When these two teams are on top of the NBA, there's a lot more to talk about at the breakfast table.