The plan in case Rondo gets injured during the regular season?

[jayk009]

Now i hope he never ever gets injured, but if he does I hope it's in the regular season and not the playoffs,  that being said, we have almost no trade chips(Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine expirings)), weak prospects(Lester Hudson, JR Gidddens, Injury prone Bill Walker). The only players we will be able to trade for is  a player with a contract longer then this season with a team looking to drop salaries,(example: New York, Milwaukee), an unhappy player who destroys his trade value by publicly demanding a trade(I dont know who this would be, but maybe like Monta Ellis or something), or a player who is so bad and has so little value to his existing team that he wont be worth acquiring in the first place. To make things more complicated his salary must not be too big that it will destroy the Celtics cap flexibility in the future(so no to Monta Ellis), his game must also be suited for what the celtics are looking for in a backup pg(strong D, good 3 point shooter, good ball handler, versatile). Now after looking at these Criteria, I think the player that makes the most sense to the Celtics is Charlie Bell of the Milwaukee Bucks.

A trade of Brian Scalabrine for Charlie Bell straight up works out, and for a team that traded away Richard Jefferson for cap relief, there's a good chance that they would trade away Charlie Bell away for cap relief as well. Even  though his contract is relatively long, his annual figures are low enough(under 4 million) that finding a team willing to take his contract will not be hard if they needed to trade him in the future.

He is also capable of playing multiple positions so that even when Rondo is fully healthy, he can fit in very well with the backup unit with Eddie House and Marquis Daniels. He is a better ball handler then House or Daniels and he is a solid 3 point shooter. He is also known for his solid defence capable of guarding the 1 and the 2.

I really think that they will take a long and hard(no homo) look at Charlie Bell, and he is the most likely player to be acquired near the deadline.

[Kwhit10]

You can't think like this.   You can't worry about a player, that isn't known for being injured, getting injured.  What if Kobe Bryant goes down in the regular season, what if Tim Duncan goes down.  What does Cleveland do if Bron goes down.  I know you need capable back ups but injuries on players that haven't had major injuries prior is not something that should be at the top of the list to worry about, it can happen to anyone... Just my opinion on the matter.

[Brickowski]

They need a backup pg.  Plain and simple.  A backup is not only there in case of injury, he helps prevent injury by keeping Ronbdo's minutes down and reducing the wear and tear on Rondo's body over a 100+ game season (82 games plus the playoffs).

[Roy Hobbs]

If Rondo goes down for a short period, I think Eddie and Daniels can pick up the slack, with Lester Hudson playing Gabe Pruitt-like minutes.

If it's a long term injury, I guess you need to see who's out there on the NBA scrap heap.  Maybe try to trade for Rafer Alston, like the Magic did last season.  However, if Rondo suffers a major injury that keeps him out of the playoffs, I don't think it will matter who his backup is; we won't win a title without him, in my opinion.

[Kwhit10]

They need a backup pg.  Plain and simple.  A backup is not only there in case of injury, he helps prevent injury by keeping Ronbdo's minutes down and reducing the wear and tear on Rondo's body over a 100+ game season (82 games plus the playoffs).

Rondo is still young, he can play heavy minutes, he's not like Ray, PP and KG.  He can weather.  Rondo is good and if he's capable of playing 36 or more minutes a night I don't think he should be limited hoping to prevent injury when he is not known for any lingering issues.

[Spilling Green Dye]

jayk009, I logged in specifically to reply to this thread and give you a TP.  I've been thinking about this exact scenario for quite sometime because it is a VERY big "What if".

I'm still not sold on Marquis Daniels playing the facilitor role more than 5 minutes a game.  While Rondo may be young, there is no reason to have him play 43+ minutes a game.  Ideally I'd like to see him out there about 37 minutes, and there is NO backup PG on this team. 

So, what if Rondo goes down?  It's not out of the question, especially considering how many hard falls he takes when driving to the hoop.  This is why Danny should hold on to those remaining expiring contracts instead of trading them for Nocioni or someone similiar. 

What PGs could be available/suitable that the Celtics could realistically get if this exact scenario happend?

[RebusRankin]

Rondo has been infused with an andimantium skeleton and giving special healing powers.

[Kiorrik]

Great question. Good thing we stall have some trading options, aye.

[Michael Anthony]

If Rondo goes down for a short period, I think Eddie and Daniels can pick up the slack, with Lester Hudson playing Gabe Pruitt-like minutes.

If it's a long term injury, I guess you need to see who's out there on the NBA scrap heap.  Maybe try to trade for Rafer Alston, like the Magic did last season.  However, if Rondo suffers a major injury that keeps him out of the playoffs, I don't think it will matter who his backup is; we won't win a title without him, in my opinion.

Right on the money. The House-Daniels-Hudson combo is more than anough for any five game stretch, and there are plenty of point guards out there who could float this team for a month or two.

[feckless]

If Rondo goes down for a short period, I think Eddie and Daniels can pick up the slack, with Lester Hudson playing Gabe Pruitt-like minutes.

If it's a long term injury, I guess you need to see who's out there on the NBA scrap heap.  Maybe try to trade for Rafer Alston, like the Magic did last season.  However, if Rondo suffers a major injury that keeps him out of the playoffs, I don't think it will matter who his backup is; we won't win a title without him, in my opinion.

Right on the money. The House-Daniels-Hudson combo is more than anough for any five game stretch, and there are plenty of point guards out there who could float this team for a month or two.

  In the event Rondo is injured  (knock on wood) if we are to make a championship run it would be nice to have a PG who went through camp and is familiar.  Eddie and Quisy may be good for a couple of games but more than that Lester better have better PG skills than anyone gives him credit for. 

[dark_lord]

i dont even want to think about this happening 

[Eeyore III]

i dont even want to think about this happening 

Unfortunately, neither did Danny and Doc, apparently.  With respect to the PG issue, they're in full ostrich mode.

[JSD]

Maybe try to trade for Rafer Alston, like the Magic did last season. 

This was my initial thought. Scal, TA and a 2nd rounder would probably be enough to bring him in too.

[Fafnir]

I don't think it will matter who his backup is; we won't win a title without him, in my opinion.

Absolutely.

If we win a title this year, Rondo will be our Finals MVP.

[crownsy]

I agree, we aren't going anywhere without him for an extended period.

My solution for dealing with any serious injury to him is: