Trade Idea: Rondo to Utah

[Chris]

So, we have seen plenty of Rondo trade ideas floated out, so here is another one, that I think could be intriguing for both teams.

Boston trades Rajon Rondo for Devin Harris and the #3 pick (Kanter or Williams).  They would have to wait until after July 1st (or whenever the new CBA starts), because of Rondo's BYC status, or, they can include Jermaine Oneal and Raja Bell if they want to complete it on Draft night.

Obviously, for Boston, this is going to come down to what you think of Rondo versus Harris, but I think this is the type of deal that Danny might consider with Rondo (if he can't get a guy like Chris Paul).  He essentially turns one young player into a couple.

Harris is going to be the part that makes this the most difficult though.  On the one hand, he has been very ordinary over the last few years playing for terrible teams. On the other hand, he looked very good when he played on a contender in Dallas a couple years ago, particularly on the defensive end, and as some instant offense, and he could potentially find that again, being surrounded by such a strong team.

And of course, this would also give the C's another young player to hopefully build around (or at least build some value with), while also filling a hole on their roster, and hopefully being able to help a bit right away.

For Utah, I think they would jump at this opportunity.  They are supposedly trying to talk themselves into guys like Brandon Knight or Kemba Walker as their PG's of the future, and Rondo can help them fill that hole more quickly with an established, but still very young, star.  And, since Utah already has Jefferson, Millsap, Favors, Hayward, and the #12 pick to add young talent with, that #3 pick might be more valuable to the C's, who are starving for building-blocks.

[Who]

A very large downgrade from Rondo to D.Harris ... Kanter is too much of an unknown for me to take a risk like that.

If it were D.Williams, it would be more interesting. I haven't seen enough of him to be sure one way or the other but it would be worth considering.

[BballTim]

  That's a pretty solid downgrade to our starting lineup in what's probably the last year of this core's window to get a high pick in a bad draft.

[StartOrien]

I'd rather get Milsap back than Harris

[Chris]

A very large downgrade from Rondo to D.Harris ... Kanter is too much of an unknown for me to take a risk like that.

If it were D.Williams, it would be more interesting. I haven't seen enough of him to be sure one way or the other but it would be worth considering.

For the record, this is pretty much where I stand on this as well.  Just thought I would throw the idea out there though.

...although I do think, if the C's didn't have Rondo, Harris could be a decent fit with this group of players.  He is not the distributor Rondo is, but he is capable, and could carry more of the scoring burden, which, while wouldn't have been ideal a couple years ago, may be something they could use now.

[StartOrien]

I'd say I also disagree with Harris being a capable distributor. In my opinion he has consistently shown an inability to get his team involved, and has shown little interest in learning to do so. He's shown this on three different teams now, I think at this point, he is what he is.

[BballTim]

A very large downgrade from Rondo to D.Harris ... Kanter is too much of an unknown for me to take a risk like that.

If it were D.Williams, it would be more interesting. I haven't seen enough of him to be sure one way or the other but it would be worth considering.

For the record, this is pretty much where I stand on this as well.  Just thought I would throw the idea out there though.

...although I do think, if the C's didn't have Rondo, Harris could be a decent fit with this group of players.  He is not the distributor Rondo is, but he is capable, and could carry more of the scoring burden, which, while wouldn't have been ideal a couple years ago, may be something they could use now.

  Without the distribution you limit the effectiveness of the scorers we have now and supplement it with someone who's 27 and has had one good scoring year in his career. Plus you lose the defense and rebounding.

[Lucky17]

Interesting thought, Chris.

Would people like the idea more if Harris were flipped to the Blazers for Andre Miller and another young player (Batum, Rudy) and/or a pick?

[wdleehi]

How about if we expanded the trade.


Rondo, Green, Oneal and 1st for Jefferson, Harris and 1st?


(not sure if money will work out, but should be close)

[Who]

A very large downgrade from Rondo to D.Harris ... Kanter is too much of an unknown for me to take a risk like that.

If it were D.Williams, it would be more interesting. I haven't seen enough of him to be sure one way or the other but it would be worth considering.

For the record, this is pretty much where I stand on this as well.  Just thought I would throw the idea out there though.

...although I do think, if the C's didn't have Rondo, Harris could be a decent fit with this group of players.  He is not the distributor Rondo is, but he is capable, and could carry more of the scoring burden, which, while wouldn't have been ideal a couple years ago, may be something they could use now.

  Without the distribution you limit the effectiveness of the scorers we have now and supplement it with someone who's 27 and has had one good scoring year in his career. Plus you lose the defense and rebounding.

Yeah, I would be pretty worried about the Big Three's effectiveness offensively without Rondo there to create high quality shot attempts for them. They just aren't dominant enough scorers anymore to maintain their current levels of success without Rondo. 

[BballTim]

Interesting thought, Chris.

Would people like the idea more if Harris were flipped to the Blazers for Andre Miller and another young player (Batum, Rudy) and/or a pick?

  I think the Celts can still contend for a title next year but I have serious doubts about the big three's chances of being successful with a mediocre pg.

[CelticsFanNC]

  It's interesting.  I am not completely against trading Rondo but I'd only do it for an upgrade to the starting line up as a unit.  I'm afraid this isn't it.

  Harris is a HUGE down grade defensively.  He doesn't stay in front of anyone and that would seal it for me personally.  He's also an average distributor which would downgrade the effectiveness of the Big Three who these days all rely on Rondo to get them easy baskets.  Harris is a marginally better shooter but Rondo has shown an ability to really step it up in the post season which to me is a huge factor in any deal that involves Rondo.

[Fan from VT]

A very large downgrade from Rondo to D.Harris ... Kanter is too much of an unknown for me to take a risk like that.

If it were D.Williams, it would be more interesting. I haven't seen enough of him to be sure one way or the other but it would be worth considering.

For the record, this is pretty much where I stand on this as well.  Just thought I would throw the idea out there though.

...although I do think, if the C's didn't have Rondo, Harris could be a decent fit with this group of players.  He is not the distributor Rondo is, but he is capable, and could carry more of the scoring burden, which, while wouldn't have been ideal a couple years ago, may be something they could use now.

  Without the distribution you limit the effectiveness of the scorers we have now and supplement it with someone who's 27 and has had one good scoring year in his career. Plus you lose the defense and rebounding.

But on the flipside of that, our scorers are slowing down at scoring, and our offense struggles to finish, and two of our scorers (KG, Pierce) remain well above average at their positions as distributors/offensive facilitators, but that skill is underutilized by having our point guard be basically the main distributor, and having distribution be the only thing he does. There is a strong possibility that our offense as a whole could be better by having 60% of our offense initiated by a PG who has a nose for the hoop and 40% initiated by very good distributors at the PF/SF position rather than the 90/10 it is now, with our PF/SF distributor skills largely underused.

[Chris]

A very large downgrade from Rondo to D.Harris ... Kanter is too much of an unknown for me to take a risk like that.

If it were D.Williams, it would be more interesting. I haven't seen enough of him to be sure one way or the other but it would be worth considering.

For the record, this is pretty much where I stand on this as well.  Just thought I would throw the idea out there though.

...although I do think, if the C's didn't have Rondo, Harris could be a decent fit with this group of players.  He is not the distributor Rondo is, but he is capable, and could carry more of the scoring burden, which, while wouldn't have been ideal a couple years ago, may be something they could use now.

  Without the distribution you limit the effectiveness of the scorers we have now and supplement it with someone who's 27 and has had one good scoring year in his career. Plus you lose the defense and rebounding.

Yeah, I would be pretty worried about the Big Three's effectiveness offensively without Rondo there to create high quality shot attempts for them. They just aren't dominant enough scorers anymore to maintain their current levels of success without Rondo. 

To play devils advocate though, we saw in the playoffs that defenses have found ways to take away the passing game.  So, while it really helped them cruise at times in the regular season, in the postseason, when defenses were putting more energy into keeping the ball out of Pierce, Ray, and KG's hands, we really could have used more consistent scoring from the PG spot.

Now, I understand the argument that Harris just isn't that good.  But I still think it wouldn't be a terrible thing for this team to have a more consistently effective scoring threat at the PG position...or of course if Rondo became that guy, that would be ideal.

[BballTim]

A very large downgrade from Rondo to D.Harris ... Kanter is too much of an unknown for me to take a risk like that.

If it were D.Williams, it would be more interesting. I haven't seen enough of him to be sure one way or the other but it would be worth considering.

For the record, this is pretty much where I stand on this as well.  Just thought I would throw the idea out there though.

...although I do think, if the C's didn't have Rondo, Harris could be a decent fit with this group of players.  He is not the distributor Rondo is, but he is capable, and could carry more of the scoring burden, which, while wouldn't have been ideal a couple years ago, may be something they could use now.

  Without the distribution you limit the effectiveness of the scorers we have now and supplement it with someone who's 27 and has had one good scoring year in his career. Plus you lose the defense and rebounding.

But on the flipside of that, our scorers are slowing down at scoring, and our offense struggles to finish, and two of our scorers (KG, Pierce) remain well above average at their positions as distributors/offensive facilitators, but that skill is underutilized by having our point guard be basically the main distributor, and having distribution be the only thing he does. There is a strong possibility that our offense as a whole could be better by having 60% of our offense initiated by a PG who has a nose for the hoop and 40% initiated by very good distributors at the PF/SF position rather than the 90/10 it is now, with our PF/SF distributor skills largely underused.

  First of all distribution isn't the only thing Rondo does. Secondly PP and KG do frequently pass the ball but don't initiate the offense on a regular basis, but at this point in their careers that's probably a good thing. Thirdly, having them distribute the ball more and the pg distribute the ball less is a good idea if they distribute the ball as well (or almost as well) as the pg. Clearly that isn't the case although it could be with Miller or Harris.