Will Bos VS LA renewed rivaly attract top role playing Free Agents???

[nickagneta]

I don't care what anyone says, Iverson is a point guard. Although he has always been listed as a SG, 90% of the time in any offense he has been in, he ran the offense. That's my definition of a PG.

And Arenas is a PG too. Just an incredibly more selfish version of the Sam Cassell type PG.

[seccom]

By the end of next year, or the year after, there are only three players on that list I would want running my club rather than Rondo, that being Williams, Parker and Paul. By that time he will have a ton of playoff experience, possibly a ring or two, be the best defensive PG in the league and be an excellent floor general that will be one of the best if not the best rebounding point guards in the league. And only 24 years old.

That's what I mean by one of the better PGs in the league. Argue otherwise, but he is already among the top 3 defensive and rebounding PGs in the league and at 22 is averaging 10.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.6 APG 1.71 STLPG in the playoffs and out of players that have played more than 1 series, he has the 3rd best AST/TO Ratio at 3.48. That last # is not just PGs, its all players.

These #'s are by a 22 year old PG in the pressure packed situations of the playoffs(ECF and Finals included). If he can perform at that level in the playoffs at 22, what do you think his ceiling will be later on?

Rondo may be a PG of NBA final team, however, he is the only true PG that you have after the KG trade and there is a reason why McHale did not want him.  There are 3 point guards in Memphis, anyone can be better than Rondo. There is also Devin Harris of NJ and Derrick Rose coming in next year.

[Frontierboy]

I honestly believe the Laker will trade Odom once Bynum comes back.... you don't need a 6'10" small forward who can't shoot the jump shot....... they'll probably trade him for some cap relief.

Why does everyone like Vujacic.... he disgusts me...... yuck..... he can't defend, he's soft, he has an attitude..... he's like a smaller Wally Szerbiak......

What are the chances that PJ retires and we sign Antonio Davis ( out of retirement) for next year and win it all again.... he's a veteran banger......

I'd love to see Mikael Pietrus sign with us..... Diop would be good too.... I wouldn't mind Freddy Jones replacing Tony Allen.... I wouldn't mind McDyess joining us next year but he probably won't since he and KG don't get along.

[rondohondo]

By the end of next year, or the year after, there are only three players on that list I would want running my club rather than Rondo, that being Williams, Parker and Paul. By that time he will have a ton of playoff experience, possibly a ring or two, be the best defensive PG in the league and be an excellent floor general that will be one of the best if not the best rebounding point guards in the league. And only 24 years old.

That's what I mean by one of the better PGs in the league. Argue otherwise, but he is already among the top 3 defensive and rebounding PGs in the league and at 22 is averaging 10.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.6 APG 1.71 STLPG in the playoffs and out of players that have played more than 1 series, he has the 3rd best AST/TO Ratio at 3.48. That last # is not just PGs, its all players.

These #'s are by a 22 year old PG in the pressure packed situations of the playoffs(ECF and Finals included). If he can perform at that level in the playoffs at 22, what do you think his ceiling will be later on?

Rondo may be a PG of NBA final team, however, he is the only true PG that you have after the KG trade and there is a reason why McHale did not want him.  There are 3 point guards in Memphis, anyone can be better than Rondo. There is also Devin Harris of NJ and Derrick Rose coming in next year.

Actually McHale wanted Rondo in the trade, but Danny Ainge refused to give him up.

Rondo Definitely has a chance to be a top 5 Point guard over the next ten years

I am not including Nash's rookie season because he only played 10 mins a game back then. So these are Nash's stats for his 2nd and 3rd seasons in the league.

Steve Nash
Year 1 -  76 Games/ 9 games started
 9.1 PPG , 3.4 APG ,1.3 TOPG, 2.1 RPG , 0.8 SPG, 46 % FG, 41% 3P ,  21 MPG     
Year 2 - 40 Games/ 40 games started
 7.9 PPG , 5.5 APG , 2.1 TOPG, 2.8 RPG , 0.9 SPG, 36 % FG, 37% 3P ,  32 MPG     

Tony Parker
Year 1 - 77 Games/ 72 games started
9.2 PPG , 4.3 APG , 2 TOPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.2 SPG , 42 % FG, 32 % 3P , 29 MPG       
Year 2 -82 Games/ 82 games started
15.5PPG , 5.3 APG, 2,4 TOPG, 2.6 RPG , 0.9 SPG, 46 % FG, 33 % 3P , 34 MPG       

Chauncey Billups
Year 1 - 80 Games/ 70 Games started
11.2 PPG , 3.9 APG, 2.2 TOPG , 2.4 RPG , 1.3 SPG , 37 % FG, 32 % 3P , 28 MPG   
Year 2 - 45 Games/ 41 Games started
13.9 PPG , 3.8 APG, 2.2 TOPG , 2.1 RPG , 1.3 SPG , 39 % FG , 36 % 3P, 33 MPG

Rajon Rondo
Year 1 -   78 Games/ 25 Games started
 6.4 PPG , 3.8 APG ,1.8 TOPG,  3.7 RPG , 1.6 SPG , 41% FG , 20 % 3P,  23 MPG   
Year 2 -   77 Games/ 77 Games started
10.6PPG, 5.1 APG , 1.9 TOPG ,  4.2 RPG , 1.7 SPG , 49 % FG , 26 % 3P, 30 MPG   


1ST Playoff Apperance as Starting Point Guard
Steve Nash , Age 26 , 10 Games
13.6 PPG , 6.4 APG , 2.5 TOPG, 3.2 RPG,0.6 SPG , 42 % FG  , 41 % 3P , 37 MPG

Tony Parker , Age 19 , 10 Games
15.5 PPG, 4 APG , 2.2 TOPG  , 2.9 RPG , 0.9 SPG , 45 % FG , 37 % 3P ,  34 MPG

Chauncey Billups, Age 25, 3 Games
22 PPG , 5.7 APG , 3 TOPG   ,  5 RPG    , 1 SPG   , 45 % FG , 40 % 3P .  44 MPG

Rajon Rondo , Age 21 , 21 Games
10.7 PPG, 6.6 APG, 1.9 TOPG , 4.2 RPG , 1.7 SPG, 41% FG , 26 % 3P  ,  33.5 MPG


Rondo is 21 years old and has already lead his team to the NBA Finals( and hopefully a championship soon) he has 3 great players to play with, but you can make the case that having those hall of famers around Rondo puts even more pressure on him to lead the team then any of these other players had in their 1st playoff apperance as a starter. Rondo is already a top 5 defensive PG in the league right now.  To take it to an all-star level he has to be able to kncok down a 15-18 foot jumper 50% of the time  and stretch out to the 3 point line and shoot at least 30 %

[BballTim]

By the end of next year, or the year after, there are only three players on that list I would want running my club rather than Rondo, that being Williams, Parker and Paul. By that time he will have a ton of playoff experience, possibly a ring or two, be the best defensive PG in the league and be an excellent floor general that will be one of the best if not the best rebounding point guards in the league. And only 24 years old.

That's what I mean by one of the better PGs in the league. Argue otherwise, but he is already among the top 3 defensive and rebounding PGs in the league and at 22 is averaging 10.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.6 APG 1.71 STLPG in the playoffs and out of players that have played more than 1 series, he has the 3rd best AST/TO Ratio at 3.48. That last # is not just PGs, its all players.

These #'s are by a 22 year old PG in the pressure packed situations of the playoffs(ECF and Finals included). If he can perform at that level in the playoffs at 22, what do you think his ceiling will be later on?

Rondo may be a PG of NBA final team, however, he is the only true PG that you have after the KG trade and there is a reason why McHale did not want him.  There are 3 point guards in Memphis, anyone can be better than Rondo. There is also Devin Harris of NJ and Derrick Rose coming in next year.

  McHale did want Rondo. So did Seattle in the Ray Allen deal. Ainge wouldn't trade him.

[Triboy16]

Ainge knows rondo will be a star one day. He is a semi triple double waiting to happen every game. 10 points, 7 assist, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 turnover.

plus he has guts flying to the net the way he does, i don't think many players in the nba do, for example chris paul

[Barnabas]

"Rondo is 21 years old and has already lead his team to the NBA Finals[/b]( and hopefully a championship soon) he has 3 great players to play with, but you can make the case that having those hall of famers around Rondo puts even more pressure on him to lead the team then any of these other players had in their 1st playoff apperance as a starter. Rondo is already a top 5 defensive PG in the league right now.  To take it to an all-star level he has to be able to kncok down a 15-18 foot jumper 50% of the time  and stretch out to the 3 point line and shoot at least 30 % "

Ok, rondohondo, I have to disagree with your first sentence here.  Rondo did not lead the Celtics to the NBA Finals.  The Big Three did that.  Rondo is part of the effort, but he is far from the one who is leading the team to this success.  Now, I am getting picky here, but I just wanted to clarify this.  Only the most biased pro-Rondo fanatic can say that he is the one who led the team to this stage.  Rondo handles the ball and brings it up the court, but no, he does not lead the team.  He does not lead this team.  However, there have been young PGs in their first and second years that were able to lead their teams, like Magic.  But ofcourse Magic is in a different class from Rondo.

[rondohondo]

"Rondo is 21 years old and has already lead his team to the NBA Finals[/b]( and hopefully a championship soon) he has 3 great players to play with, but you can make the case that having those hall of famers around Rondo puts even more pressure on him to lead the team then any of these other players had in their 1st playoff apperance as a starter. Rondo is already a top 5 defensive PG in the league right now.  To take it to an all-star level he has to be able to kncok down a 15-18 foot jumper 50% of the time  and stretch out to the 3 point line and shoot at least 30 % "

Ok, rondohondo, I have to disagree with your first sentence here.  Rondo did not lead the Celtics to the NBA Finals.  The Big Three did that.  Rondo is part of the effort, but he is far from the one who is leading the team to this success.  Now, I am getting picky here, but I just wanted to clarify this.  Only the most biased pro-Rondo fanatic can say that he is the one who led the team to this stage.  Rondo handles the ball and brings it up the court, but no, he does not lead the team.  He does not lead this team.  However, there have been young PGs in their first and second years that were able to lead their teams, like Magic.  But ofcourse Magic is in a different class from Rondo.

well obviously the big 3 lead the team, but I meant from the PG positions because we were talking about him being a top PG in the league in the future.

[Barnabas]

"well obviously the big 3 lead the team, but I meant from the PG positions because we were talking about him being a top PG in the league in the future."

Ok, thank you for clarifying that. 

I'm really puzzled by Rondo.  He does have some very good abilities, like his defense.  And he does have quickness.  He does usually make good decisions.  He is prone to making mistakes at the most inconvenient of times though.

[Barnabas]

"Why does everyone like Vujacic.... he disgusts me...... yuck..... he can't defend, he's soft, he has an attitude..... he's like a smaller Wally Szerbiak......"

Actually, Sasha Vujacic is considered a good defender.  He is also accounted to be a fantastic 3-point shooter.  Plus, he's tall.  He can also play SG.

[nickagneta]

By the end of next year, or the year after, there are only three players on that list I would want running my club rather than Rondo, that being Williams, Parker and Paul. By that time he will have a ton of playoff experience, possibly a ring or two, be the best defensive PG in the league and be an excellent floor general that will be one of the best if not the best rebounding point guards in the league. And only 24 years old.

That's what I mean by one of the better PGs in the league. Argue otherwise, but he is already among the top 3 defensive and rebounding PGs in the league and at 22 is averaging 10.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.6 APG 1.71 STLPG in the playoffs and out of players that have played more than 1 series, he has the 3rd best AST/TO Ratio at 3.48. That last # is not just PGs, its all players.

These #'s are by a 22 year old PG in the pressure packed situations of the playoffs(ECF and Finals included). If he can perform at that level in the playoffs at 22, what do you think his ceiling will be later on?

Rondo may be a PG of NBA final team, however, he is the only true PG that you have after the KG trade and there is a reason why McHale did not want him.  There are 3 point guards in Memphis, anyone can be better than Rondo. There is also Devin Harris of NJ and Derrick Rose coming in next year.

First, McHale desperately wanted Rondo in the Garnett trade but ended up settling for Gomes and Telfair.

Second, until any of the PGs in Memphis can put up stats even half as good as Rondo's, let's leave them out of the equation. They have proven nothing.

Third, Derrick Rose is a very good PG. But Mike Conley Jr. was considered to be a great PG as well. Look what happened after his first year. Let's not start calling Derrick Rose a good NBA PG before he has even played game one. He is no guarantee.

Devin Harris has potential and is a good point guard. But, like Rondo, he is not one of the better PGs in the league right now, so he did not make the list. And, as for the future, I don't think his ceiling is nearly high as Rondo's, especially if Rondo's jumper continues to improve. After just one season his shot is light years better than the year before. We will see how far he will take that shot.

Lastly, who cares if Rondo is the only true PG we have. Exactly what does that add to the question as to whether Rajon is and will be a top PG in this league. I find it hard to comprehend that your only argument against any of the claims or stats that I brought up to prove my point is to point out 5 players that have proven nothing. 1 that doesn't even play NBA ball yet, 3 that have shown nothing even close to Rondo's success and/or potential, and another that Dallas deemed not good enough to run their squad in the playoffs.

You also completely ignored any of the points I made about Rondo's ability to rebound, play defense, run a team, or anything else. I imagine that's because you agree with what I said. At 22 the kid has a really, really good AST/TO ratio, especially considering how often the ball is in his hands. That's because he makes good decisions and has an excellent handle on the ball. Very few times has anyone ever picked his pocket.

So back to the original point.

A veteran scorer would want to play with whom? A future, from all indications, top PG in the league that could have already won a ring and three unselfish Hall of Famers or Kobe Bryant, at times, the most selfish player in the league. If the Celtics win the title, where do you believe a veteran scorer, who is a free agent and is looking for somewhere to park himself for a ring before he retires, is going to choose to play? Boston or LA?

There might be those that believe LA. I think the smarter choice for a player like Grant Hill, Kurt Thomas, Alonzo Mourning, or Bonzi Wells is probably Boston. But that's because of the 4th player in the original equation that was left out. A PG that doesn't want to score but wants to pass the ball and let scorers score.

Sounds like an ideal place for a vet that wants a ring before it is all said and done.

[BballTim]

"Rondo is 21 years old and has already lead his team to the NBA Finals[/b]( and hopefully a championship soon) he has 3 great players to play with, but you can make the case that having those hall of famers around Rondo puts even more pressure on him to lead the team then any of these other players had in their 1st playoff apperance as a starter. Rondo is already a top 5 defensive PG in the league right now.  To take it to an all-star level he has to be able to kncok down a 15-18 foot jumper 50% of the time  and stretch out to the 3 point line and shoot at least 30 % "

Ok, rondohondo, I have to disagree with your first sentence here.  Rondo did not lead the Celtics to the NBA Finals.  The Big Three did that.  Rondo is part of the effort, but he is far from the one who is leading the team to this success.  Now, I am getting picky here, but I just wanted to clarify this.  Only the most biased pro-Rondo fanatic can say that he is the one who led the team to this stage.  Rondo handles the ball and brings it up the court, but no, he does not lead the team.  He does not lead this team.  However, there have been young PGs in their first and second years that were able to lead their teams, like Magic.  But ofcourse Magic is in a different class from Rondo.

  Rondo led the Celts through the playoffs as much as Ray Allen did. He's no KG, but he's an integral part of the team.

[ma11l]

"Rondo is 21 years old and has already lead his team to the NBA Finals[/b]( and hopefully a championship soon) he has 3 great players to play with, but you can make the case that having those hall of famers around Rondo puts even more pressure on him to lead the team then any of these other players had in their 1st playoff apperance as a starter. Rondo is already a top 5 defensive PG in the league right now.  To take it to an all-star level he has to be able to kncok down a 15-18 foot jumper 50% of the time  and stretch out to the 3 point line and shoot at least 30 % "

Ok, rondohondo, I have to disagree with your first sentence here.  Rondo did not lead the Celtics to the NBA Finals.  The Big Three did that.  Rondo is part of the effort, but he is far from the one who is leading the team to this success.  Now, I am getting picky here, but I just wanted to clarify this.  Only the most biased pro-Rondo fanatic can say that he is the one who led the team to this stage.  Rondo handles the ball and brings it up the court, but no, he does not lead the team.  He does not lead this team.  However, there have been young PGs in their first and second years that were able to lead their teams, like Magic.  But ofcourse Magic is in a different class from Rondo.

  Rondo led the Celts through the playoffs as much as Ray Allen did. He's no KG, but he's an integral part of the team.

I agree with you tim.  You can't hide your point guard.  If he is not playing well, then the team won't win.  Our wins and losses have correlated somewhat with his success on the court.  He's not Paul, or KG, but if he struggles, we struggle.  To this point he's played enough good games to get us to the Finals.

[BballTim]

By the end of next year, or the year after, there are only three players on that list I would want running my club rather than Rondo, that being Williams, Parker and Paul. By that time he will have a ton of playoff experience, possibly a ring or two, be the best defensive PG in the league and be an excellent floor general that will be one of the best if not the best rebounding point guards in the league. And only 24 years old.

That's what I mean by one of the better PGs in the league. Argue otherwise, but he is already among the top 3 defensive and rebounding PGs in the league and at 22 is averaging 10.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.6 APG 1.71 STLPG in the playoffs and out of players that have played more than 1 series, he has the 3rd best AST/TO Ratio at 3.48. That last # is not just PGs, its all players.

These #'s are by a 22 year old PG in the pressure packed situations of the playoffs(ECF and Finals included). If he can perform at that level in the playoffs at 22, what do you think his ceiling will be later on?

Rondo may be a PG of NBA final team, however, he is the only true PG that you have after the KG trade and there is a reason why McHale did not want him.  There are 3 point guards in Memphis, anyone can be better than Rondo. There is also Devin Harris of NJ and Derrick Rose coming in next year.

  Just to quickly come back to this, aside from scoring Rondo put on a very complete game last night. 2 (home) games in the NBA finals and he's gotten 11 rebounds, 23 assists, 2 steals, a block and only 4 turnovers. With more experience he won't be tentative about shooting (and he can score, he got about 15 a game while KG was out on about 55% shooting). His future is awfully bright.

[CT34]

even though it is a little early to think about,




Ainge just needs to ask one question to those FA.


'Who do you want to play with, Kobe or KG?'

That will be depending on the age of the free agent. The young one will want Lakers, the older one will want Celtics.

It will be Kobe, Gasol and Bynum vs KG, PP and Ray.

You are seeing that trend this year already.

  The Lakers window isn't much bigger than the Celts. As soon as Kobe slows down you guys are toast. Bynum and Gasol won't carry you anywhere without him.

Allen is 33, Kobe is 29
KG is 32, Odom is 28
PP is 31, Gasol is 27
Bynum is 20.

The Lakers 3 will the same age as the Celtics 3 four years from now. So you tell me how big is their window?

I think you're leaving out a very important part of the equation.

Rajon Rondo  22

The thought of playing with a PG that might be one of the better PGs in the league in a year or two might be pretty intriguing for a veteran scorer that hasn't gotten a ring yet. A veteran scorer off the bench would be a very valuable commodity to both teams and if you're offensively minded who do you want to play big minutes with to win a title?

Rajon Rondo and the other unselfish Celtics or Kobe Bryant?

Can anyone say Grant Hill, Bonzi Wells or Beno Udrih?

I have logical problem with this argument. Are you saying Rondo will be as good as some of the better PG in this league? Can you give me some example of the "better PG" that you are talking about? Who are you compare Rondo to?

As of right now these PGs are better than Rondo:

Nash
Paul
Williams
Billups
Kidd
Parker
Davis
Miller
Arenas
Iverson
Calderon - maybe but I don't think so.
Felton - maybe but I don't think so.

By the end of next year, or the year after, there are only three players on that list I would want running my club rather than Rondo, that being Williams, Parker and Paul. By that time he will have a ton of playoff experience, possibly a ring or two, be the best defensive PG in the league and be an excellent floor general that will be one of the best if not the best rebounding point guards in the league. And only 24 years old.

That's what I mean by one of the better PGs in the league. Argue otherwise, but he is already among the top 3 defensive and rebounding PGs in the league and at 22 is averaging 10.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.6 APG 1.71 STLPG in the playoffs and out of players that have played more than 1 series, he has the 3rd best AST/TO Ratio at 3.48. That last # is not just PGs, its all players.

These #'s are by a 22 year old PG in the pressure packed situations of the playoffs(ECF and Finals included). If he can perform at that level in the playoffs at 22, what do you think his ceiling will be later on?

Wow that's a nice list and out of all those PG only Billups and Parker will have rings.  If the Celtics win the championship only 4 starting PGs in the league will have championship rings and Rondo would be one of them.....Paker,Billups and Fisher would be the other 3.