Rondo wants All-Star money

[youcanthandlethetruth113]

While there's still a chance that the two sides agree to an extension, a source close to the process told me it's unlikely. Rondo wants All-Star money and the Celtics aren't convinced he'll handle a five-year guaranteed deal well. It’s a classic maturity-vs.-talent battle that the Celtics may ultimately lose. - ESPN.com

It looking more and more like RR is going to test his worth as a restricted FA next summer. Should the Celtics look into locking him up and avoiding a Ben Gordon type situation? Is there incentive for the C's to lock him up now rather than waiting?

The Celtics are in a good position in that they can match whatever Rondo is offered on the open market next summer.  If the Cs can get a reasonable deal done now, great, otherwise, next summer is fine.

Agreed 100%. No rush. We're in a great position.

[HomeRunBaker]

The PG position in this league under the current rules is simply not a very important position in todays game. I've stated this before but last season you had arguably two of the worst starting PGs in the game matched up in the NBA Finals (Fisher and Alston).....the year before you had Fisher again with 2nd year Rondo who wasn't nearly the player he is today.  Even when Alston was suspended for the playoff game last year the Magic simply plugged in 63-year old Anthony Johnson and the Magic rolled on to a blowout victory.  The PG position only needs to be managed by someone who doesn't make a lot of mistakes and can knock down open shots......i mean, Steve Blake is really all you need on this Celtics team and he won't cost what Rondo will (double his salary when you factor in luxury tax).

It appears that Ainge has identified this by not even being involved in serious negotiations with Rondo as he knows that both sides are worlds apart as to what a non-Chris Paul PG is worth in todays games.  My guess is that Rondo wants a 5/$70m deal while Ainge will only go 4/$30m.

I am fairly certain that Rajon Rondo's agent will be hard at work next summer and ultimately work out a sign-and-trade but i do not expect Rondo to be a Celtic past this season.  The numbers simply don't add up.

  With all the teams with cap space next year there'd be no reason to work out a sign and trade. All a team would have to do is go a little over what they think the Celts will match and get him for free.

But if the Celtics do match then that other team has essentially tied up $12 Mill+ a season for a week or two in the hottest FA market ever and get nothing out of it. That's a risk in itself right? A sign and trade might be a good option for a team that is looking to shake things up and maintain cap room.

  First of all nobody's going to sign Rondo until LeBron/Bosh/Wade/whoever else is already settled. Secondly I don't know that Danny would want to take back $12M or so in contracts. He'd still need to replace Rondo, so I doubt he'd do a sign and trade without getting back an acceptable alternative to Rondo.

Keep in mind that Ainge is also looking to create a bridge from the 2010-11 season to the post-Big Three era and he witnessed first hand the mistakes that Red made in not moving McHale when he still had a TON of value and to a lesser degree Robert Parish. 

The question is what is considered an acceptable alternative to Rondo?  We don't have a crystal ball to read Ainge's mind on how he envisions the structure of our future teams but a lottery pick and a large expiring contract (non of what we have now would have been possible without the Raef for Ratliff trade to acquire Theo's expiring deal) could open up MANY doors for Ainge in any moves he makes over the next 2-3 years.  Acquiring a starting PG to pair up with this current core next season would not be that difficult......any move of Rondo would be based largely on how Ainge plans on structuring our team into the next decade.

[KJ33]

The PG position in this league under the current rules is simply not a very important position in todays game. I've stated this before but last season you had arguably two of the worst starting PGs in the game matched up in the NBA Finals (Fisher and Alston).....the year before you had Fisher again with 2nd year Rondo who wasn't nearly the player he is today.  Even when Alston was suspended for the playoff game last year the Magic simply plugged in 63-year old Anthony Johnson and the Magic rolled on to a blowout victory.  The PG position only needs to be managed by someone who doesn't make a lot of mistakes and can knock down open shots......i mean, Steve Blake is really all you need on this Celtics team and he won't cost what Rondo will (double his salary when you factor in luxury tax).

It appears that Ainge has identified this by not even being involved in serious negotiations with Rondo as he knows that both sides are worlds apart as to what a non-Chris Paul PG is worth in todays games.  My guess is that Rondo wants a 5/$70m deal while Ainge will only go 4/$30m.

I am fairly certain that Rajon Rondo's agent will be hard at work next summer and ultimately work out a sign-and-trade but i do not expect Rondo to be a Celtic past this season.  The numbers simply don't add up.

  With all the teams with cap space next year there'd be no reason to work out a sign and trade. All a team would have to do is go a little over what they think the Celts will match and get him for free.

But if the Celtics do match then that other team has essentially tied up $12 Mill+ a season for a week or two in the hottest FA market ever and get nothing out of it. That's a risk in itself right? A sign and trade might be a good option for a team that is looking to shake things up and maintain cap room.

  First of all nobody's going to sign Rondo until LeBron/Bosh/Wade/whoever else is already settled. Secondly I don't know that Danny would want to take back $12M or so in contracts. He'd still need to replace Rondo, so I doubt he'd do a sign and trade without getting back an acceptable alternative to Rondo.

Keep in mind that Ainge is also looking to create a bridge from the 2010-11 season to the post-Big Three era and he witnessed first hand the mistakes that Red made in not moving McHale when he still had a TON of value and to a lesser degree Robert Parish. 

The question is what is considered an acceptable alternative to Rondo?  We don't have a crystal ball to read Ainge's mind on how he envisions the structure of our future teams but a lottery pick and a large expiring contract (non of what we have now would have been possible without the Raef for Ratliff trade to acquire Theo's expiring deal) could open up MANY doors for Ainge in any moves he makes over the next 2-3 years.  Acquiring a starting PG to pair up with this current core next season would not be that difficult......any move of Rondo would be based largely on how Ainge plans on structuring our team into the next decade.

Red did not make a mistake not trading McHale, sorry, revisionist history.  He drafted Len Bias who would have carried on the success of the team, not Red's fault he died.  Same with Reggie.  I cannot stand this argument, and I know Danny has said this.  Did the C's trade Russell to maximize his worth at the end?  Havlicek?  Cowens?(not counting his return from retirement)  As a fan who lived through the tough years after reveling in the original Big 3's run, I never regretted that one of the Big 3 wasn't moved.  There was no guarantee anyway that would have ensured another title.  I am glad McHale retired as a Celtic.

[HomeRunBaker]

The PG position in this league under the current rules is simply not a very important position in todays game. I've stated this before but last season you had arguably two of the worst starting PGs in the game matched up in the NBA Finals (Fisher and Alston).....the year before you had Fisher again with 2nd year Rondo who wasn't nearly the player he is today.  Even when Alston was suspended for the playoff game last year the Magic simply plugged in 63-year old Anthony Johnson and the Magic rolled on to a blowout victory.  The PG position only needs to be managed by someone who doesn't make a lot of mistakes and can knock down open shots......i mean, Steve Blake is really all you need on this Celtics team and he won't cost what Rondo will (double his salary when you factor in luxury tax).

It appears that Ainge has identified this by not even being involved in serious negotiations with Rondo as he knows that both sides are worlds apart as to what a non-Chris Paul PG is worth in todays games.  My guess is that Rondo wants a 5/$70m deal while Ainge will only go 4/$30m.

I am fairly certain that Rajon Rondo's agent will be hard at work next summer and ultimately work out a sign-and-trade but i do not expect Rondo to be a Celtic past this season.  The numbers simply don't add up.

  With all the teams with cap space next year there'd be no reason to work out a sign and trade. All a team would have to do is go a little over what they think the Celts will match and get him for free.

But if the Celtics do match then that other team has essentially tied up $12 Mill+ a season for a week or two in the hottest FA market ever and get nothing out of it. That's a risk in itself right? A sign and trade might be a good option for a team that is looking to shake things up and maintain cap room.

  First of all nobody's going to sign Rondo until LeBron/Bosh/Wade/whoever else is already settled. Secondly I don't know that Danny would want to take back $12M or so in contracts. He'd still need to replace Rondo, so I doubt he'd do a sign and trade without getting back an acceptable alternative to Rondo.

Keep in mind that Ainge is also looking to create a bridge from the 2010-11 season to the post-Big Three era and he witnessed first hand the mistakes that Red made in not moving McHale when he still had a TON of value and to a lesser degree Robert Parish. 

The question is what is considered an acceptable alternative to Rondo?  We don't have a crystal ball to read Ainge's mind on how he envisions the structure of our future teams but a lottery pick and a large expiring contract (non of what we have now would have been possible without the Raef for Ratliff trade to acquire Theo's expiring deal) could open up MANY doors for Ainge in any moves he makes over the next 2-3 years.  Acquiring a starting PG to pair up with this current core next season would not be that difficult......any move of Rondo would be based largely on how Ainge plans on structuring our team into the next decade.

Red did not make a mistake not trading McHale, sorry, revisionist history.  He drafted Len Bias who would have carried on the success of the team, not Red's fault he died.  Same with Reggie.  I cannot stand this argument, and I know Danny has said this.  Did the C's trade Russell to maximize his worth at the end?  Havlicek?  Cowens?(not counting his return from retirement)  As a fan who lived through the tough years after reveling in the original Big 3's run, I never regretted that one of the Big 3 wasn't moved.  There was no guarantee anyway that would have ensured another title.  I am glad McHale retired as a Celtic.

That is your opinion....which resulted in two decades of rebuilding but it had nothing to do with Bias as he had already passed.  I was referring to the megadeals being offered for McHale around 89 or 90 when he was just completing his prime.  Rather than receiving lottery picks and quality starters for a finished McHale we got the honor of watching him hobble around on broken feet for three years so he could retire a Celtic (this decision led to us hanging onto Parish until he had zero value as well, a double wammy).......sorry, but that was a flat-out error in judgement and the franchise paid the price for many years.    I feel Ainge will learn from Red's mistake and you will not see Ray Allen or Kevin Garnett retire as Celtics.....and a good chance that Pierce does not either.  The result will be a stronger Celtics franchise from 2012-2020, quite possibly as a contender during this time.....that is worth much more than trivial retirement ceremonies.

[Moranis]

The PG position in this league under the current rules is simply not a very important position in todays game. I've stated this before but last season you had arguably two of the worst starting PGs in the game matched up in the NBA Finals (Fisher and Alston).....the year before you had Fisher again with 2nd year Rondo who wasn't nearly the player he is today.  Even when Alston was suspended for the playoff game last year the Magic simply plugged in 63-year old Anthony Johnson and the Magic rolled on to a blowout victory.  The PG position only needs to be managed by someone who doesn't make a lot of mistakes and can knock down open shots.

Depends on your system. Try replacing Magic with Steve Blake or Anthony Johnson, or Stockton, or Billups. Those teams can deal with having weak PG's because one of them runs the triangle offense, which is based around having a PG who just shoots open shots, and the other had a great point-forward in Turkoglu who could handle the point guard duties.

At one point I actually looked this up, but if I recall correctly there have only been three times that a PG was an all star and played in the NBA Finals in the same season: Tony Parker for the most recent Spurs championship and Jason Kidd twice for the Nets.  Prior to Kidd you had to go back to the Jazz and Stockton in 97.  (I didn't just re-look this up, so I may be a bit off in my recollection)

The reality is you don't need a high level PG to even play for the NBA championship, nonetheless win one. 

[Mr October]

Rondo shouldn't be paid like an all star until he is an all star - and not an injury replacement one, picked by Stern either.

Rondo's level right now: Quality Starter, not quite an all star: $40/5 or so.

If he makes the all star team, then he could be worth: $55/5

In order to get the max, he would have to be an MVP level PG, capable of carrying a mediocre talented team to an overachieving record (like Paul, Kidd, Iverson, etc over the years).

[Chief]

Rondo shouldn't be paid like an all star until he is an all star - and not an injury replacement one, picked by Stern either.

Rondo's level right now: Quality Starter, not quite an all star: $40/5 or so.

If he makes the all star team, then he could be worth: $55/5

In order to get the max, he would have to be an MVP level PG, capable of carrying a mediocre talented team to an overachieving record (like Paul, Kidd, Iverson, etc over the years).

I think Rondo, right now, is a top 5 pg in the NBA.

[Brickowski]

The market in the Summer of 2010 will determine Rondo's value, and whatever it is, the Celtics will pay it.

[Mr October]

Rondo shouldn't be paid like an all star until he is an all star - and not an injury replacement one, picked by Stern either.

Rondo's level right now: Quality Starter, not quite an all star: $40/5 or so.

If he makes the all star team, then he could be worth: $55/5

In order to get the max, he would have to be an MVP level PG, capable of carrying a mediocre talented team to an overachieving record (like Paul, Kidd, Iverson, etc over the years).

I think Rondo, right now, is a top 5 pg in the NBA.

1. Paul
2. Williams
(then a drop off)
3. Parker
4. Billups
5. Nash
6. Nelson
7. Rondo

Keep in mind that Rose is dripping with potential to break out after a great rookie year. And there is a cluster of dudes just below Rondo - Calderon, Miller, Terry, Kidd, Ford, etc.

Rondo needs to build on the consistency he showed in last spring's playoffs. Rondo is darn good, love his game, but he is not a Jedi yet.

[BballTim]

Rondo shouldn't be paid like an all star until he is an all star - and not an injury replacement one, picked by Stern either.

Rondo's level right now: Quality Starter, not quite an all star: $40/5 or so.

If he makes the all star team, then he could be worth: $55/5

In order to get the max, he would have to be an MVP level PG, capable of carrying a mediocre talented team to an overachieving record (like Paul, Kidd, Iverson, etc over the years).

I think Rondo, right now, is a top 5 pg in the NBA.

1. Paul
2. Williams
(then a drop off)
3. Parker
4. Billups
5. Nash
6. Nelson
7. Rondo

Keep in mind that Rose is dripping with potential to break out after a great rookie year. And there is a cluster of dudes just below Rondo - Calderon, Miller, Terry, Kidd, Ford, etc.

Rondo needs to build on the consistency he showed in last spring's playoffs. Rondo is darn good, love his game, but he is not a Jedi yet.

  At this stage in his career Nash isn't better than Rondo and if Billups is he won't be for much longer. Nelson, last year, shot wildly better that he ever has in the pasta nd still wasn't necessarily better, but I'd like to see him do it for a full season before I'd put him anywhere near the top. If Rondo shows anywhere near the improvement he's shown in the past then he'd be fighting Billups and Nelson for the 4th spot on that list.

[Greenback]

Trade him or let him walk.  He is so erratic he could be easily replaced by a cheap, consistent veteran. The C's should of paid Posey and maybe Powe buy don't get foolish wasting big money on an overhyped player riding the coatails of real all stars.

[Tr1boy]

rondo definitely wants alridge type money. So it is bad news. Also rondo has won a ring already and he is young. He wants to get the most he believes he deserves with possibly another championship ring second in nature. I can't blame him really

but i can blame him if he becomes a greedy son of a gun who thinks he deserves the same money kg or pierce gets right now. He is no doubt somewhere in between what perk gets (i think 6 or 7 million a season vs 15 million mark pierce and kg get.

Final say either danny signs him to a 5 year 65 million like alridge got (he won't get 70 ), signed him to a 1 year 10 million dollar deal and see what happens from there or trade him this upcoming season to for example the sacramento kings for Tyreke Evans and nocioni for rondo and giddens

[Mr October]

Rondo shouldn't be paid like an all star until he is an all star - and not an injury replacement one, picked by Stern either.

Rondo's level right now: Quality Starter, not quite an all star: $40/5 or so.

If he makes the all star team, then he could be worth: $55/5

In order to get the max, he would have to be an MVP level PG, capable of carrying a mediocre talented team to an overachieving record (like Paul, Kidd, Iverson, etc over the years).

I think Rondo, right now, is a top 5 pg in the NBA.

1. Paul
2. Williams
(then a drop off)
3. Parker
4. Billups
5. Nash
6. Nelson
7. Rondo

Keep in mind that Rose is dripping with potential to break out after a great rookie year. And there is a cluster of dudes just below Rondo - Calderon, Miller, Terry, Kidd, Ford, etc.

Rondo needs to build on the consistency he showed in last spring's playoffs. Rondo is darn good, love his game, but he is not a Jedi yet.

  At this stage in his career Nash isn't better than Rondo and if Billups is he won't be for much longer. Nelson, last year, shot wildly better that he ever has in the pasta nd still wasn't necessarily better, but I'd like to see him do it for a full season before I'd put him anywhere near the top. If Rondo shows anywhere near the improvement he's shown in the past then he'd be fighting Billups and Nelson for the 4th spot on that list.

Consistency is the key. You know what you will get from Nash, Billups and Nelson night after night.

You never know which Rondo will show up. Sometimes he looks like a top 5 starter, sometimes (not as much anymore) he looks like a bottom 5 starter.

[GKC]

What's with this Rondo bashing? Rondo is worse than Nelson? Nelson had half a consistent season and isn't a great passer

And really, what cheap veteran are you really going to replace Rondo with, and why would you go older than younger?

To hear people say he's not worth max money, that's fair
To hear people say let him walk? He pulled us through that third round. Ray Allen even says that when Rondo plays better, the entire team plays better.

We have to cool the let him walk talk. Sure he may be frustrated, but if your boss keeps harping on your faults despite how well you play to the media, wouldn't you be too?

Rondo's quote on dealing with the situation was "Well, if I don't get a contract, we'll win a championship and that would increase my value I guess". He wants to win.

And I like a winner.

[Brickowski]

1. CP3
2. DWill
3. Rondo/Rose

Oh sure, Billups, Bdiddy and Nash are good, but they're ten years older.  You don't build a franchise around those older players.  And Nash, as good as he is offensively, is a major problem defensively, and the older he gets, the worse it will be.

Let me add that basketball players aren't fungible.  You can't say that a rotation player is worth "x", a starter is worth "y" and an all-star is worth "z".  That sort of comparables analysis may work in business valuations (albeit poorly) but it doesn't work with human beings.  An NBA player's worth is relative and depends on a complex set of factors.