Thursday morning's highly-publicized breakfast meeting between Kobe Bryant and Rajon Rondo was indeed just a pre-planned breakfast date, planned weeks in advance, according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.

Given Rondo's pending free agency, and the mutual respect between the two stars, many jumped to the conclusion that the meeting was some sort of recruiting pitch.

That doesn't appear to be the case, as Bryant and Rondo - who haven't shared the court in an L.A. Lakers-Boston Celtics matchup since March, 2012 because of injuries - were just catching up ahead of Friday's clash in Boston.

However, while there are no active Rondo trade talks between the two legendary franchises, sources told Shelburne that the teams had brief trade discussions a few months ago.

Considering the questions surrounding Steve Nash's health and the Lakers' starting point guard position going forward, that's not surprising. The Lakers are also expected to pursue Rondo in free agency next summer.

Rondo is averaging 8.3 points, 10.9 assists, 7.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 15 games for the Celtics this season.