Can Rajon and Deron play together?

[Moranis]

Paul and Billups made a pretty good tandem in L.A. before Billups went down so it got me to thinking what if the Celtics added Deron Williams and kept Rondo.  Could Rondo and Williams be like Paul and Billups.  Now granted Billups and Paul are better shooters than Williams and Rondo, but the duos are of generally similar size and skill sets. 

I don't know if Deron and/or Rajon would want to try to make that work, but it seems like something that might work especially with the league's SG's getting smaller and smaller and frankly I think they would be a good fit next to each other in the backcourt.   

[PosImpos]

Both of them excel by having the ball in their hands the vast majority of the time, so I'm gonna say they could play together, but not in a way that makes the best use of their abilities.

[ManUp]

Sure they could, but Deron Williams the shooting guard probably doesn't have the same impact on the game.

[mqtcelticsfan]

We diminish their marginal utility offensively, and get murdered by any SG that can score.

[Chris]

Can they?  Sure.  Should they?  No way.  Championship teams are built by matching complimentary skillsets of talented players.  Rondo and Williams together would dimish each of their effectiveness, so you would not get much value for your money. 

If you want Williams, then you trade Rondo for a guy who compliments him better.

[mqtcelticsfan]

If you want Williams, then you trade Rondo for a guy who compliments him better.

I've heard that Shane Battier is pretty friendly. 

[Donoghus]

Can they?  Sure.  Should they?  No way.  Championship teams are built by matching complimentary skillsets of talented players.  Rondo and Williams together would dimish each of their effectiveness, so you would not get much value for your money. 

If you want Williams, then you trade Rondo for a guy who compliments him better.

This.

[KG_ended_Bias]

Trade Rondo now! Get peices (Horford if possible)  being that Josh Smith wants Rondo & go hard after Deron Williams in the offseason.

[Eddie20]

I say yes, and I base that on how well Williams played as a 2 guard (Paul was the 1) during the olympics. I don't think he would get torched by 2's. He's a strong PG, and if anything, he struggles vs the really quick ones.

[Moranis]

I say yes, and I base that on how well Williams played as a 2 guard (Paul was the 1) during the olympics. I don't think he would get torched by 2's. He's a strong PG, and if anything, he struggles vs the really quick ones.

That was more how I was thinking.  I mean, I would be surprised if Williams wasn't stronger than Ray Allen.  Now granted Allen has a couple of inches on Williams, but strength, size, power, etc. I would think would favor Williams. 

I realize they are both ball handlers that thrive with the ball in their hand, but so are Paul and Billups, and that worked extremely well offensively and wasn't too bad defensively either. 

[Eddie20]

I say yes, and I base that on how well Williams played as a 2 guard (Paul was the 1) during the olympics. I don't think he would get torched by 2's. He's a strong PG, and if anything, he struggles vs the really quick ones.

That was more how I was thinking.  I mean, I would be surprised if Williams wasn't stronger than Ray Allen.  Now granted Allen has a couple of inches on Williams, but strength, size, power, etc. I would think would favor Williams. 

I realize they are both ball handlers that thrive with the ball in their hand, but so are Paul and Billups, and that worked extremely well offensively and wasn't too bad defensively either. 

Exactly. He has enough size to handle most 2's. Wade is 6-4 and does fine. Think of it on the other end of the floor. How many 2's would be able to deal with the handles & shakes Williams has? Plus, he is a good shooter so you can't just sag off him daring him to shot. If he really wanted to focus on scoring, I really think he could be a top 5 scorer based on his excellent skill set.

[Donoghus]

That's a lot of money to wrap up in your backcourt.  Especially when you take the risk of diminished returns with the similarities.

Show me your frontcourt before signing off on that.  I can't imagine it'd be spectacular.

You need quality bigs to go far in the NBA.

[Who]

What a waste of top notch point guards this would be

[IrishGreen]

Trade Rondo now! Get peices (Horford if possible)  being that Josh Smith wants Rondo & go hard after Deron Williams in the offseason.

A backcourt of Rondo and Joe Johnson win the NBA, along with Josh Smith, for what, Al Horford. Thats laughable.

[Celtics4ever]

Deron drove off Jerry Sloan that makes him uncoachable and a nondesirable in my book.