Why does Rondo have to be traded?

[thirstyboots18]

Answer:  Rondo does not have to be traded.

Rondo "may" be traded at some point, but it would have to be a very good deal for the Celtics.  Since this year is probably not a Championship year, they have plenty of time to get his rehab right, while still building toward a championship team...time to actually test out young talent.

Even then, if Rondo was traded for less than top talent, it would be a disservice to the team and to the fans.

You may think that during the rebuilding stage it will be fun to watch young talent develop, and it is, but it wears thin after a while.  (It was fun for Cleveland watching Lebron develop...and then what happened?)

Rondo will not be an easy player to replace.  Practically to a man at Media Day event, players stated that they looked forward to playing with Rondo, that he made other players on the team better.  (Besides KG, who was the last Celtic that other players said that about?  Larry Bird comes to mind...)  It is a hard skill to find.

[chambers]

as for you second part, Rondo is a guy that is a great complimentary piece, but he isn't a #1 guy.  He isn't even a #2 guy.  You have to consistently score and consistently play at a high level to be one of those guys.  Rondo isn't that guy.  All the Rondo supporters always point out the great playoff series, but can't explain why Rondo doesn't do that all the time and ignore his multitude of playoff game stinkers.  Rondo shows up occassionally and when he does he is great, but just doesn't do it enough to be relied upon or counted on as a building block.

  Rondo's been the best player on teams that went to the finals and the ECF. His "stinkers" in the playoffs generally come when he's injured. Rondo scored or assisted a higher percentage of his team's points than any other player in the 2012 playoffs and his team came within a game of getting to the finals. Claiming a player like that can't be a #1 or #2 guy on a team is pretty ridiculous.

He's saying he's not the 'guy' on a championship team.
That's a pretty widely agreed on consensus throughout the NBA.
to be the guy on a title team puts you in an elite class. Rondo's currently a bench All star-not the number one option on a serious contender.

Actually, he's saying he's not even the number two guy on a serious contender.  I consider both the 2012 team and the 2010 teams to have been "serious contenders."  Rondo was, at least, the number two guy, debatably the number one guy, on both of those teams. 

So, based on history, yes, Rondo has shown that he can be a number one or number two guy on a serious contender.

Again, this is all opinion, and he was awesome against the Heat in 2012..but he was not better than Pierce or KG in our Finals appearances. In fact in 2010 KG was still hobbling and in 2012 EFC Pierce was playing on one leg too- Rondo stepped up and played like a superstar but a real superstar plays all season. Hasn't shown the capacity to lead a team through the regular season.
It's great if he cruises and turns it up during the playoffs but as a point guard that can't shoot there is almost zero chance this guy is the leader of a championship team.
He has always had incredible shooters surrounding him.
he has always had KG behind him and Pierce or Ray to his left and right.

He hasn't faced long term adversity yet and I'd like to see him put up with some pain this season and show some season long resilience and drive.

Again, he's D Roses backup in the All Star game and is MAYBE a top 20 overall player in the NBA. When was the last time a team won a ship' with a guy bordering the top 20 players or even 15 players led a team to that ship' as their best player?

[#1P4P]

Answer:  Rondo does not have to be traded.

Rondo "may" be traded at some point, but it would have to be a very good deal for the Celtics.  Since this year is probably not a Championship year, they have plenty of time to get his rehab right, while still building toward a championship team...time to actually test out young talent.

Even then, if Rondo was traded for less than top talent, it would be a disservice to the team and to the fans.

That is the answer...

If Rondo wants to be part of the Celtics, he has around a year and a half to prove his value and Ainge has that time to mull over if he wants to pay him that. Rajon will be 28 years old, there will be cap space to add a Max salary player the off-season prior, and 2 2014 1st round draft picks in their 2nd years in the league by the time the 2015 trade deadline comes around (when a decision would have to be made if a trade is necessary).

Rondo will disappoint people that think he's overrated and he's going to be exposed without KG and Pierce. He lost one of his oft-used offensive weapons last year and his assist average barely budged. He helped Bass shoot the highest mid-range shooting % in the league using a simple pick & pop. What does that tell you?

Add efficient shooting big men like Sullinger and Olynyk, a good spot up shooter in Green, and he'll have enough options to continue his assist rate while being in a position to up his scoring averages.

[Celtics18]

as for you second part, Rondo is a guy that is a great complimentary piece, but he isn't a #1 guy.  He isn't even a #2 guy.  You have to consistently score and consistently play at a high level to be one of those guys.  Rondo isn't that guy.  All the Rondo supporters always point out the great playoff series, but can't explain why Rondo doesn't do that all the time and ignore his multitude of playoff game stinkers.  Rondo shows up occassionally and when he does he is great, but just doesn't do it enough to be relied upon or counted on as a building block.

  Rondo's been the best player on teams that went to the finals and the ECF. His "stinkers" in the playoffs generally come when he's injured. Rondo scored or assisted a higher percentage of his team's points than any other player in the 2012 playoffs and his team came within a game of getting to the finals. Claiming a player like that can't be a #1 or #2 guy on a team is pretty ridiculous.

He's saying he's not the 'guy' on a championship team.
That's a pretty widely agreed on consensus throughout the NBA.
to be the guy on a title team puts you in an elite class. Rondo's currently a bench All star-not the number one option on a serious contender.

Actually, he's saying he's not even the number two guy on a serious contender.  I consider both the 2012 team and the 2010 teams to have been "serious contenders."  Rondo was, at least, the number two guy, debatably the number one guy, on both of those teams. 

So, based on history, yes, Rondo has shown that he can be a number one or number two guy on a serious contender.

Again, this is all opinion, and he was awesome against the Heat in 2012..but he was not better than Pierce or KG in our Finals appearances. In fact in 2010 KG was still hobbling and in 2012 EFC Pierce was playing on one leg too- Rondo stepped up and played like a superstar but a real superstar plays all season. Hasn't shown the capacity to lead a team through the regular season.
It's great if he cruises and turns it up during the playoffs but as a point guard that can't shoot there is almost zero chance this guy is the leader of a championship team.
He has always had incredible shooters surrounding him.
he has always had KG behind him and Pierce or Ray to his left and right.

He hasn't faced long term adversity yet and I'd like to see him put up with some pain this season and show some season long resilience and drive.

Again, he's D Roses backup in the All Star game and is MAYBE a top 20 overall player in the NBA. When was the last time a team won a ship' with a guy bordering the top 20 players or even 15 players led a team to that ship' as their best player?

In 2012, Rajon Rondo finished eighth in MVP voting for the regular season.  That is not an opinion; that is a fact.  I'll add that, in my opinion, that's an impressive fact for someone who "hasn't shown the capacity to lead a team through the regular season."

During the 2012 playoffs, Rajon Rondo played at an even higher level than the play that earned him more MVP votes in the regular season than all but seven other players.  That is not technically a fact.  It is an opinion, but it is one that I would think is almost universally shared by those who watched those playoffs. 

Based on the above two realities, I think it's fair to say that Rajon Rondo was a top ten player in the NBA for the 2012 season. 

I am optimistic that he can return to his top ten level of play once he recovers from surgery and begins to enter into the prime years of his career. 

[guava_wrench]

Agreed. And for this reason I can't imagine the rationale of paying ANY PG max money. Seems like a waste.

So you wouldn't pay Kyrie Irving $15m when his rookie deal is up?

I can't imagine the rationale of generalizing about max deals when the max amount is based on years of service and Irving's career trends towards $15m being a very reasonable salary.

People need to talk less about 'max deals' and talk about actual yearly salary. 'Max' is meaningless unless you know what the actual value will be for a players years of service. It is also nonsensical unless you know whether the person is re-signing to a max deal or signing a max deal with a new team (which would be for less money per year).