Doc, KG, Rondo + the Clips

[winsomme]

The more that I think about this the more I think Doc leaving the Cs had less to do with rebuilding and more to do with his relationship with Rondo.

After listening to to the soundbytes from Danny's presser, the lack of certainty with what they are doing with KG and Pierce offers the possibility that next years Cs actually might be a better playoff team than Doc's new home, the Clippers. That team IMO is far from a contender. They have a center who can't play at the ends of games. They struggle to execute in halfcourt sets because of their personnel, and their defense really is not at a championship level. They also don't have clear crunch-time leaders.

So, why did Doc go there? Maybe early on in the process he thought he was going with KG in tow, but certainly with the final round of negotiations he realized KG was not coming with..The only thing I can really think to is to is Rondo because there just are not obvious landing pads for KG + PP. To me, it seems more and more likely that at the very least KG will be on the Cs this year.

If a deal for PP comes through opening up space for a Josh Smith signing, that seems like even more ammo for a Doc-Rondo problem - in that JS is a close friend of Rondo's. It does seem at this point that Danny is very comfortable making this Rondo's team, and maybe Docs just didn't want that to be the team he is coaching.

Doc said he wants to be coaching a team with Title hopes, but is that what he has in LA? Honestly, with no moves whatsoever, the Cs (with Rondo and Sully back) are the better team. Add in a first round pick and an MLE veteran and the Cs certainly would be pushing to win their division and be a top 4 seed going into the playoffs.

I don't know. I'm looking at this right now and not seeing the appeal of the Clippers and am more seeing the problematic relationship with Rondo.

[kgainez]

he's also senior vp of opeations over there. i think he likes that and potentially starts him on a new career path

[nebist]

The Clips aren't perfect, but you're overstating their issues here.  They did win 56 games in the Western Conference last year while the Celts were essentially a .500 team in the East.

[clover]

I'm not sold on either rebuilding as "Rondo's team" or paying big money for Josh Smith.  But I agree, it does almost look and sound as if Danny's earlier efforts to move Rondo may have been at Doc's request--and he could be less inclined to do so now.

[Celtics Insider]

I know i'm in the minority, but I like our team as it is. I wouldn't mind getting Smith, but he doesn't deserve the money he's demanding.

A lot of people want to trade Lee, Terry, Bass, and/or Bradley, but I really only want to trade terry because of our overabundance of SGs.

Lee can hit the 3 well (though he was a bit inconsistent last year), and he's a great defender. I'm sure I'm not the only one that noticed that, at the end of the season, Lee started playing the same type of full-court press defense that Bradley played.

Bradley isn't too great offensively, but his amazing defense more than makes up for it. With that being said, he backed off of that defense towards the end of the season, I have no idea why. If he and Lee can keep that pressure up and not back down throughout the season, we'll be great.

Bass can give us quality minutes. He's a great jump-shooter, a good defender, and he's tough.

I think, even after KG and Pierce are gone, we'll still have a good core to build around;

Rondo
Bradley/Lee
Green
Sully/Bass/Randolph
Melo

I don't want to get rid of any of the above players. I think they all have a lot to offer.

[winsomme]

he's also senior vp of opeations over there. i think he likes that and potentially starts him on a new career path

certainly possible, but that team really is not that good...and if Danny for instance was able to move Pierce and land Josh Smith, the Cs would be no more of a rebuild that the Clippers.

I mean, is CP3-Griffen really a Title combo? That team IMO has lots of rebuilding to do of their own.

[winsomme]

The Clips aren't perfect, but you're overstating their issues here.  They did win 56 games in the Western Conference last year while the Celts were essentially a .500 team in the East.

Yeah but the Cs were without Rondo...and the Clips lost in the first round. They really are not a very good team. At the very least not a good playoff team.

[BudweiserCeltic]

The Clips aren't perfect, but you're overstating their issues here.  They did win 56 games in the Western Conference last year while the Celts were essentially a .500 team in the East.

Yeah but the Cs were without Rondo...and the Clips lost in the first round. They really are not a very good team. At the very least not a good playoff team.

Clippers were dealing with some injuries of their own that really affected how they played... just saying.

[Fafnir]

The Clips aren't perfect, but you're overstating their issues here.  They did win 56 games in the Western Conference last year while the Celts were essentially a .500 team in the East.

Yeah but the Cs were without Rondo...and the Clips lost in the first round. They really are not a very good team. At the very least not a good playoff team.

Clippers were dealing with some injuries of their own that really affected how they played... just saying.

Blake Griffin wasn't healthy, just like last year and that really limited what the clippers could do. (CP3 was hurt last year too) Still they need another big man and probably a better wing to be contenders.

If I was a Clippers fan I'd be pretty worried about how often Blake ends up being a non-factor due to injury.

[winsomme]

I know i'm in the minority, but I like our team as it is. I wouldn't mind getting Smith, but he doesn't deserve the money he's demanding.

A lot of people want to trade Lee, Terry, Bass, and/or Bradley, but I really only want to trade terry because of our overabundance of SGs.

Lee can hit the 3 well (though he was a bit inconsistent last year), and he's a great defender. I'm sure I'm not the only one that noticed that, at the end of the season, Lee started playing the same type of full-court press defense that Bradley played.

Bradley isn't too great offensively, but his amazing defense more than makes up for it. With that being said, he backed off of that defense towards the end of the season, I have no idea why. If he and Lee can keep that pressure up and not back down throughout the season, we'll be great.

Bass can give us quality minutes. He's a great jump-shooter, a good defender, and he's tough.

I think, even after KG and Pierce are gone, we'll still have a good core to build around;

Rondo
Bradley/Lee
Green
Sully/Bass/Randolph
Melo

I don't want to get rid of any of the above players. I think they all have a lot to offer.

I definitely would like to move Lee. I LOVED the signing when it was made and thought he would step into Ray's role, but he looked terrified to shoot and he defense, while filled with effort, was not good. He is a lot smaller than I realized and had trouble with bigger two guards. They would just push right past him.

I was very disappointed with him last year.

[winsomme]

I'm not sold on either rebuilding as "Rondo's team" or paying big money for Josh Smith.  But I agree, it does almost look and sound as if Danny's earlier efforts to move Rondo may have been at Doc's request--and he could be less inclined to do so now.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have much of a choice at this point. Rondo's value must be pretty low coming off of knee surgery. You can't sell low on Rondo. He is our best talent right now.

I love Rondo as a player, but I am getting tired of all the relational problems he seems to have. I'm not blaming him for Ray and Doc, but there is a pattern there.

[winsomme]

The Clips aren't perfect, but you're overstating their issues here.  They did win 56 games in the Western Conference last year while the Celts were essentially a .500 team in the East.

Yeah but the Cs were without Rondo...and the Clips lost in the first round. They really are not a very good team. At the very least not a good playoff team.

Clippers were dealing with some injuries of their own that really affected how they played... just saying.

Blake Griffin wasn't healthy, just like last year and that really limited what the clippers could do. (CP3 was hurt last year too) Still they need another big man and probably a better wing to be contenders.

If I was a Clippers fan I'd be pretty worried about how often Blake ends up being a non-factor due to injury.

yeah, maybe the injuries were big for them...I don't know. I wouldn't want to coach that team. They just don't seem very good to me.

[clover]

I'm not sold on either rebuilding as "Rondo's team" or paying big money for Josh Smith.  But I agree, it does almost look and sound as if Danny's earlier efforts to move Rondo may have been at Doc's request--and he could be less inclined to do so now.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have much of a choice at this point. Rondo's value must be pretty low coming off of knee surgery. You can't sell low on Rondo. He is our best talent right now.

I love Rondo as a player, but I am getting tired of all the relational problems he seems to have. I'm not blaming him for Ray and Doc, but there is a pattern there.

I think if Danny drafts a first-round PG tomorrow that'll give us an idea that he's still open to shipping Rondo out once Rondo's back to health--which may not be by midseason.

But the Smith rumor worries me, since Josh is a FA and would have to be wooed, Rondo's presence on the team would presumably be part of the pitch.

[CelticG1]

I just don't think Blake Griffin is that good and is seriously shying away from the pressure.

I think its pretty likely that his injuroes over the past 2 playoffs have been extremely embeillished to hamper his playoff expectations.

Seems like it has worked as he has gotten a free pass the last couple years.

By the way I thought it was Vinny del negro that was holding the clips back the past couple years?

[winsomme]

I'm not sold on either rebuilding as "Rondo's team" or paying big money for Josh Smith.  But I agree, it does almost look and sound as if Danny's earlier efforts to move Rondo may have been at Doc's request--and he could be less inclined to do so now.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have much of a choice at this point. Rondo's value must be pretty low coming off of knee surgery. You can't sell low on Rondo. He is our best talent right now.

I love Rondo as a player, but I am getting tired of all the relational problems he seems to have. I'm not blaming him for Ray and Doc, but there is a pattern there.

I think if Danny drafts a first-round PG tomorrow that'll give us an idea that he's still open to shipping Rondo out once Rondo's back to health--which may not be by midseason.

But the Smith rumor worries me, since Josh is a FA and would have to be wooed, Rondo's presence on the team would presumably be part of the pitch.

Yeah if Danny signs JS that is a sure sign that Rondo is here to stay. That said, if he was in some way able to land JS without giving up PP (ie using picks and salaries), the Cs will be huge contenders next season..

Rondo, PP, Green, Josh Smith, KG starting 5 is kinda a beast. Would anybody be excited to play that team?

Still, I also wouldn't mind Danny figuring out how to land a PG in this draft (Larkin, Carter-Williams) and then move Rondo for a big (how about Rondo for DMC..)

I have no idea what this team is going to look like next year.