I don't think that Rondo would be a great fit next to Lebron, who wants / needs the ball in his hands. Rondo is borderline useless offensively off the ball.
Lebron has never played with a pass pg before. These days if you see him play he does not want to bring up the ball unless he feels like he has to take over the game. Just like how Pierce was before demanding the ball at any point of the game, i don't think Rondo will have a problem giving up the ball to Lebron anytime he wants it , especially in the 4th quarter
Right now the issue with the cavs is that Irving brings up the ball but alot of times does not know "naturally" what to do with it. In the 4th quarter he wants to score but this is also where guys like Lebron and Love want to shine. There is a struggle
Irving on the Celtics team can rely on guys like Green, Sully, KO , Smart's passing to get the offense working and also jack up 20-22 shots without worry and get the team the points it needs. Most importantly score those less than 5 min points to close out the game
How much better do you think the Celtics would be right now if they exchanged Rondo for Irving?
Better. The team will have a chance to win more close score games. Backcourt defense will be better
I seriously doubt that's true. Irving is a worse defender than Rondo.
There are some things Rondo is better at the defensive end, but Irving is younger and is a better 1 on 1 defender right now. Anyways it's not defensive needs that we would be getting Irving. It's his ability to score, maximize the passing abilities from guys like KO, Sully, Green and have him be the "finisher" for the team.
I disagree. I don't think Irving would make the team better offensively. As a matter of fact, I believe he would hamper the play of Olynyk, Sully, and Green, as opposed to maximizing their abilities. The fact that those guys play with a pass first PG is good for them as scorers.
If you think just giving the ball to Irving and asking him to take all the shots would improve the team's chemistry or offensive production, I think you are mistaken.
On the flipside, having a player that can create his own looks, will cause double teams, and subsequently open looks for teammates.
On the double flip side, Rondo almost always draws multiple defenders when he gets into the lane, thus creating open looks for teammates.
yes for some parts of the game but in the 4th quarter or against smart teams, they won't be dumb to double Rondo. You dare Rondo to shoot and stay with your man or play zone defense. Thats how you can beat us and how we have lost so many games late now
But that's because we don't have a complete team.
If Rondo goes for a layup, or ANY player comes off a pick and goes to the basket then they are likely to be double teamed- the beauty of Rondo is that he'll find those open shooters or players much better than others.
I don't know where you got the 'play zone defense' line from, because Rondo destroys zone defenses with his ability to get by his defender.
How many guys can stay in front of Rondo in the NBA?
It's fair enough if you want to trade Rondo for a good PG that can shoot, but you can't blame him for not having any good team mates to help carry the load.
There are 2 guys in the NBA that have the ability to carry an entire team, night in and night out, and those guys are Lebron and Durant.
Rondo has Green, Sullinger and Olynyk as his wing men for god's sake. A 3rd year and 2nd year player with Avery Bradley.
The only one of those guys that would start on a true contender are maybe Sullinger and maybe Jeff Green.
He's playing with inexperienced, average NBA players.