I guess it really depends how strongly Ainge wants to tank this season. He was slightly outdone by other GM's last year in his efforts to make us as bad as possible, and I don't think he anticipated just how many teams would tank so hard.
He may look at the crop of big men coming up in 2015/16 as free agents and as draft picks and decide that we need to tank while going hard after some wing men for Rondo in picks and free agents. I'm not one of those fans that thinks 'making the playoffs to attract free agents' is a successful recipe. I'd rather use Rondo as the bait and the Celtics as an organization whilst getting the best pick possible in case Rondo bails anyway.
What I would hope for at the start of the season:
Rondo
Bradley
Turner
Sullinger
Zeller
What I would hope for by the All Star break:
Rondo
Smart
Green
Sullinger
Zeller
I wonder how likely it is that we see a showcase starting line up so guys like Thornton, Bass, Faverani and Turner (and even Bradley) get their stats pumped up as much as possible for trade value and we still lose plenty of games.
Something like:
Rondo
Thornton
Turner
Green
Bass/Faverani
Trade all of them other than Rondo and then let
Rondo
Smart
Young
Sully
Zeller
with Bradley,Olynyk,Young, Pressey finish the season off with 40 straight losses and the number one pick
My gut tells me that Bradley was signed as our starting SG going forward and Rondo is going to consider leaving very seriously, to be replaced by Smart.
Enter 2015 with cap space, assets, Rondo, Smart, 2015 top 3 pick, Sullinger, Bradley, Young, Olynyk and money to go after a few serious free agents.