I thought the main reason everybody wants to trade Rondo is that nobody wants to pay him.
That's not why the Celtics (or the fans) consider trading Rondo.
You've never included not wanting to give Rondo a big contract next year as a reason to trade Rondo, or seen others say that?
I certainly haven't. I think ROndo is paid fairly. The "looming contract" isn't why Ainge is open to trading Rondo.
More about talent, fit and vision. Most fans who come up with Rondo trade ideas are fans of Rondo... they just feel it's in the best interest of the Celtics long-term to move him.
I didn't realize you guys didn't understand that. I explained it before... Pre-2007, I was on board with trading Pierce. I loved Pierce... I just thought at the time, it was in our best interest to move him. Ainge did too, apparently... he tried shipping him to Portland in 2005 for a pick that would have been used on Chris Paul, but Pierce killed the deal.
We are lucky that Pierce didn't end up getting traded pre-2007. You are right though. There were a lot of people at the time who thought the team would be better off moving on from Paul Pierce, that we would never be a legitimate contender with him as one of our top players.
I'm glad you all were wrong then. I'm hoping you all end up being wrong about Rondo, as well.
How would I be wrong, though?
If we can keep ROndo and land 2 better players, I'm all for it. It just seems exceptionally difficult to pull off. A lot of fans feel we'd be better off building through youth instead of grasping towards pipe dreams.
Landing a superstar like KG and another all-star like Ray was a pipe dream. A lot of us felt we were best off moving Pierce for youth. Turns out, the pipe dream came true.
If another pipe dream comes true (such as landing Love and Melo), I'm all for it. We will never win a title with Rondo as the best player... but we could win one with him as the 3rd best.
Just seems more likely that we will not be able to bring in superstars... more likely that we end up with the #6 or #7 pick and take someone like Gordon/Vonleh... and then strongly consider moving Rondo for more youth.