Chris Paul on the block?

[Levis107]

No thanks.

Chris Paul has the same mentality as Chris Bosh - "I NEED TO BE THE MAN".

Sure CP3 is a great passer, but at the end of the day he hoists a lot of terrible shots he has no business taking. I don't think CP3 is capable of ever playing the defense Rondo already can play, nor do I think anyone in the league is as exciting to watch as Rondo.

Chris Paul throws up terrible shots and Rondo doesn't?  Fact is, Chris Paul is a much better shooter than Rondo and not a liability at the free throw line.  Also a great defender, two time All NBA defensive team and NBA steals leader for two seasons.   As much as I love Rondo, I would do this is a heartbeat.  This guy nearly (and probably should have) won the MVP of the league in 2008.

[Celtics17]

This is kind of a funny thread since one year ago I said I wouldnt trade Rondo straight up for Chris Paul. I got a lot flack at the time. I have to agree with a poster on page one who said that you need to project Rondo's growth a couple of years out. He has already broken 50 year old C's records and at times has looked like the best player in the playoffs this season including Lebron and Kobe and DWade too. I say keep Rondo especially when you factor in his contract. His shot will continue to develop and as it does the rest of his game will become even more dominant. Wow, imagine that.

[Roy Hobbs]

In a heartbeat.  If we had CP3 in the Finals, I think we'd be champions this year.  Rondo at times carried this team, but as the playoffs wore on, he became less effective.  CP3, on the other hand, is a consistent 20/10 threat who can create his own offense.

Rondo is great, but CP3 is better (and he's not scared to shoot FTs.)  Many Celtics fans drastically overrate Rondo at this point.  He's a top-five PG, but he's not the best PG in the NBA.

[celticsfan8591]

To anyone who wouldnt trade Rondo for Paul:  Are you serious?  I love Rondo and think he's great, but Chris Paul is definitely a cut above Rondo.  He can carry an offense by himself, which Rondo can't do due to his inability to shoot.  When Rondo can consistently knock down 3's and free throws, this will be a legitimate discussion, but until then, I'd make that trade in a heartbeat

[CelticSooner]

Yes. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy Rondo is a Celtic. Paul is just a better overall player though. Rondo is probably a little better passer but Paul can shoot both jumpers and free throws.

Paul's salary is pretty much on par with what Rondo will be making.

It's probably a moot point anyways. I doubt New Orleans trades him.

[Scribbles]

Its an easy yes.  Your so called future franchise player can't shoot from outside of 10 feet on a regular basis after being in the league 4 years, and shoots around 25% from the line in the finals just isn't it.  

I'd easily trade Rondo for the likes of Paul, Deron Williams, Nash, Jennings, Nelson, Westbrook, and Rose straight up.  Other PG's I'd consider trading straight up for him, but might not be 100% sure of would be Curry, Brooks, Harris, Calderon, Parker, and Billups.  

Rondo is a star player, but he's not a franchise level player and theres a difference that some people on this blog seem to forget.  Now I'm happy with Rondo on this team with the current squad,or as a 3rd/4th option but the day we say he's our franchise piece we build around is the day we're struggling to make the playoffs/lottery team.  His inability to shoot from outside 8-10 feet hurt us big time in the finals and was one of the top reasons IMO we lost.  

Ummm... Jennings and Westbrook?  Wow. And even to consider Brooks and Calderon shock me.  Rondo is a game changer.  He can and has dominated playoff games on both sides of the floor.  I've never seen Brooks nor Calderon do that.  Billups for one season is a maybe, but considering that he's on the decline and Rondo is still improving makes the thought of that deal crazy.  I wouldn't personally do it for Parker, Curry, Harris, or Nelson either, but at least I guess you could argue them.  The ones I've just mentioned though - no effing way.

Jennings is going to be a stud. I live in Wisconsin and was telling all of my friends he was going to be another Telfair.  Man was I wrong.  He was the 2nd best player on the court behind Bogut for them as well.  I don't think he's the passer Rondo is but the ball works through Bogut alot since he's a great passer for a big.  He's a way better shooter from 3 and the foul line than Rondo.  His biggest knock is he faded towards the middle of the season as far as production most likely due to fatigue and he isn't that strong. 

I take it you didn't see the Thunder play the Lakers in the first round.  Westbrook destroyed them 20ppg, 6rpg, 6apg, while shooting just over 40% from 3 and over 80% from the foul line.  He also averaged 16ppg, 4.9rpg, and 8apg in the regular season.  He also is going to be a stud. 

Brooks is a better scorer than Rondo, but isn't nearly the complete player and Calderon is a great passer and shooter who would fit well on this team imo.  But again they were both in the, yeah I'd consider it list I had.  The others you listed as well, some are past their prime, like Billups, but its to each's own.

If Rondo would improve his outside shooting and free throw shooting I'd be in love with him like everyone else, but after 4 seasons its still as awful and I begin to question if he'll ever improve in that area. Heck Rose isn't that great of a 3 point shooter but has a great midrange game that I wish Rondo would add to own game. Again Rondo is a good player, but I just don't think he'll ever be a franchise player. 

[Rondo_is_better]

I want to see Chris Paul play without dominating the ball before I make any sort of judgment on him. He dribbles the ball for 23 seconds of the shot clock and then either shoots or makes a great find. That's nice -- but its not exactly outstanding basketball. It's not that hard to average 23 and 10 as a PG if you have the ball every play, you're always in the half court, you can shoot as much as you want, and you're the only one who creates any assists for your team.

[Levis107]

I want to see Chris Paul play without dominating the ball before I make any sort of judgment on him. He dribbles the ball for 23 seconds of the shot clock and then either shoots or makes a great find. That's nice -- but its not exactly outstanding basketball. It's not that hard to average 23 and 10 as a PG if you have the ball every play, you're always in the half court, you can shoot as much as you want, and you're the only one who creates any assists for your team.

If Paul dominating the ball is going to get 23 and 10 production out of the PG position, I say let him dominate all he wants.

[Rondo_is_better]

I want to see Chris Paul play without dominating the ball before I make any sort of judgment on him. He dribbles the ball for 23 seconds of the shot clock and then either shoots or makes a great find. That's nice -- but its not exactly outstanding basketball. It's not that hard to average 23 and 10 as a PG if you have the ball every play, you're always in the half court, you can shoot as much as you want, and you're the only one who creates any assists for your team.

If Paul dominating the ball is going to get 23 and 10 production out of the PG position, I say let him dominate all he wants.

Its 23 and 10 but they're "Wilt"-ish numbers. He's the only one creating anything for his team. He has the ball all the time. You know how a lot of people aren't that impressed with Wilt's 50 points per game season? Its cuz he's just took 35 shots a game to get it, controlled the ball at all times, and got great stats at the expense of team success. I feel the same way about Paul. He's team hasn't been doing all that well. He's putting up outstanding numbers on a middling to bad team while dominating the ball 24/7. Put any all-star quality point guard in his position and I bet they could do the same thing. Rondo running the Chris Paul offense? 19 ppg, 11 ast, 8 rpg, 2.5 stls. So yes, Chris Paul is a good to great player. This is why when he dominates the ball its not a complete disaster. But, having one player dominate the ball is not great basketball. That's why Paul has failed to achieve team success. If he wasn't as good as he was his team would be woefully bad. Instead, they're just mediocre.

[Rondo_is_better]

In a heartbeat.  If we had CP3 in the Finals, I think we'd be champions this year.  Rondo at times carried this team, but as the playoffs wore on, he became less effective.  CP3, on the other hand, is a consistent 20/10 threat who can create his own offense.

Rondo is great, but CP3 is better (and he's not scared to shoot FTs.)  Many Celtics fans drastically overrate Rondo at this point.  He's a top-five PG, but he's not the best PG in the NBA.

I pretty much agree with what you're saying. However, if Rondo is a top 5 PG as you're saying, is saying he's the best PG in the league really "drastically overrating him?". Its only a difference of 4 spots at the max. Probably only a difference of 2 or 3 spots. Maybe 1. I wouldn't call that drastic.

[xmuscularghandix]

I want to see Chris Paul play without dominating the ball before I make any sort of judgment on him. He dribbles the ball for 23 seconds of the shot clock and then either shoots or makes a great find. That's nice -- but its not exactly outstanding basketball. It's not that hard to average 23 and 10 as a PG if you have the ball every play, you're always in the half court, you can shoot as much as you want, and you're the only one who creates any assists for your team.

If Paul dominating the ball is going to get 23 and 10 production out of the PG position, I say let him dominate all he wants.

It’s gonna get 23 and 10 out of him. But whats it going to get out of the rest of the team?

Noone else on the roster averaged more than 2 assist in 08/09. Then in 2010 there was a point that the team averaged 14APG and 11 of them were Paul... I think they were better with Collison.

[byennie]

My heart doesn't want to trade Rondo for ANYBODY, but you would have to pull the trigger on Paul, provided he is healthy. He's pretty much Rondo with nearly elite scoring. He has the rebounds, steals, assists all in line or above Rondo.

He may dominate the ball, but he produces 50% FG, 35-40% 3PT, 85% FT *and* top of the league assists, plus the steals and rebounds.

Consider this for a second. In 2008-2009, Paul did the following:
(and 2007-2008 was quite similar)

* Led the league in pure point rating
* 2nd in steals per minute
* Best true shooting percentage among top-24 players (in terms of usage)
* 5.6 RPG
* 6 PPG at the foul line, shooting 87%

So basically, he was the best shooting, passing AND rebounding point guard in the league.

Comparing Paul 08-09 to Rondo 09-10, they are pretty darn similar except Paul scores 10 more points on only about 5 more shots.

Also, Paul is only 1 year older than Rondo and has played about the same number of games both in the NBA and college.

I don't buy that Paul dominating the ball hurts his team. His best teammate has been David West for crying out loud.

Don't get me wrong, I like Rondo, and with his reasonable contract I have no desire to move him. But for Chris Paul... hrm.

[Roy Hobbs]

In a heartbeat.  If we had CP3 in the Finals, I think we'd be champions this year.  Rondo at times carried this team, but as the playoffs wore on, he became less effective.  CP3, on the other hand, is a consistent 20/10 threat who can create his own offense.

Rondo is great, but CP3 is better (and he's not scared to shoot FTs.)  Many Celtics fans drastically overrate Rondo at this point.  He's a top-five PG, but he's not the best PG in the NBA.

I pretty much agree with what you're saying. However, if Rondo is a top 5 PG as you're saying, is saying he's the best PG in the league really "drastically overrating him?". Its only a difference of 4 spots at the max. Probably only a difference of 2 or 3 spots. Maybe 1. I wouldn't call that drastic.

You can't just say "well, he's 4th or 5th best, so it's not that big a leap to say he's #1."  I mean, it would be drastically overrating Danny Granger to call him the best SF in the NBA, even though he's top-five at his position, right?

The gap between Deron Williams / Chris Paul and everyone else is still huge.  Rondo isn't in their class as a player except on the nights when he's at his absolute best.  There's no shame in that -- he still has the overwhelming majority of point guards bested.  However, he's simply not the best, and I don't think he ever will be.

[wdleehi]

With Rondo going forward, Celtics still need a centerpiece to build around.



Rondo has the makings of a great general, but I don't think he is the star you can build around.  He needs a star with him.


Paul is the star.  He can be guy you build around.  Put a true 2nd banana and solid roll players around him, you have a contender. 

[FallGuy]

Not only would I trade Rondo for Paul, I'd add in other pieces to get it done.