Marc Stein: "hearing rumblings Celtics looking to act quickly on Rondo trade"

[TheWatersEdge]

It's definitely too early to make the final call on Rondo.  He has his flaws, but we need to see exactly how he recovers from surgery and it will be equally interesting to see how he does under a new coach/system with we can only hope features less ball-pounding.  He's an amazing and mercurial and of course volatile talent who we all know is capable of elevating his game to the highest of levels.

Like most,I see several conditions that could occur where we would trade him in 6 months to a year;
1- He never recovers well from his surgery
2- He becomes unhappy with the team direction
3- We combine him and a pick or two to move up in the draft
4- We take the best possible player in the 14' draft- who is also a PG.

[BballTim]

no it won't

Let's say you're an NBA GM. You're telling me that for the same money, you would rather pay Jrue Holiday to play for your team rather than Rajon Rondo?

Yes... both are all-star point guards.   One is 23 years old without a torn ACL.  The other is 27 years old with a torn ACL, serious flaws in his offensive game and a frequently reported attitude problem.

  One's led a team on multiple deep playoff runs. The other hasn't. And the one with "serious flaws in his offensive game" has much more of a positive impact on his team's offense than the other guy. That's more important than you realize.

[Kane3387]

no it won't

Let's say you're an NBA GM. You're telling me that for the same money, you would rather pay Jrue Holiday to play for your team rather than Rajon Rondo?

Yes... both are all-star point guards.   One is 23 years old without a torn ACL.  The other is 27 years old with a torn ACL, serious flaws in his offensive game and a frequently reported attitude problem.

  One's led a team on multiple deep playoff runs. The other hasn't. And the one with "serious flaws in his offensive game" has much more of a positive impact on his team's offense than the other guy. That's more important than you realize.

I think Rondo had no chance of being moved, for a return like that, with the ACL. I wouldn't try to trade for him until I saw him perform on the court. Doubt anyone else does either.

[ssspence]

no it won't

Let's say you're an NBA GM. You're telling me that for the same money, you would rather pay Jrue Holiday to play for your team rather than Rajon Rondo?

Yes... both are all-star point guards.   One is 23 years old without a torn ACL.  The other is 27 years old with a torn ACL, serious flaws in his offensive game and a frequently reported attitude problem.

  One's led a team on multiple deep playoff runs. The other hasn't. And the one with "serious flaws in his offensive game" has much more of a positive impact on his team's offense than the other guy. That's more important than you realize.

I'm sorry Tim but are we supposed to draw some sort of meaning for this post? Rondo didn't 'lead' a team with Garnett, Pierce and Allen on it -- he followed. And in many cases, watched, due to his ridiculous inability to shoot a basketball from the charity stripe.

Look, Rondo's an excellent player, but making him better because he was lucky enough to land on the Celtics in the right place at the right time is of course a pile of horse hair. Fact is the guy is decidedly better than Holliday at some things, an decided worse at others.

[Kane3387]

Just don't see him finishing the season as a C. If he plays and is healthy he is too good that we won't be able to tank effectively.

Stein when asked if Rondo SHOULD  (not would) be traded.

Stein: Doesn't matter what you or I think. Ainge is going to do it whether or not we push for it. Word on the street is that Ainge is worried more about the 2014 lottery than the standings. If that's the case, everyone in Boston will be much happier if Rondo is dealt before they ask him to try to stomach the nightly grind of being the face of a team just starting to rebuild.

[Celtics18]

Just don't see him finishing the season as a C. If he plays and is healthy he is too good that we won't be able to tank effectively.

Stein when asked if Rondo SHOULD  (not would) be traded.

Stein: Doesn't matter what you or I think. Ainge is going to do it whether or not we push for it. Word on the street is that Ainge is worried more about the 2014 lottery than the standings. If that's the case, everyone in Boston will be much happier if Rondo is dealt before they ask him to try to stomach the nightly grind of being the face of a team just starting to rebuild.

I think "word on the street" is a euphemism for "I read it on the internet."

[Kane3387]

Just don't see him finishing the season as a C. If he plays and is healthy he is too good that we won't be able to tank effectively.

Stein when asked if Rondo SHOULD  (not would) be traded.

Stein: Doesn't matter what you or I think. Ainge is going to do it whether or not we push for it. Word on the street is that Ainge is worried more about the 2014 lottery than the standings. If that's the case, everyone in Boston will be much happier if Rondo is dealt before they ask him to try to stomach the nightly grind of being the face of a team just starting to rebuild.

I think "word on the street" is a euphemism for "I read it on the internet."

It's probably off the top of the head ideas from NBA executives, reporters, scouts, and rival GMs. I doubt it has to do with the internet bc Stein is the internet in this scenario.

[Banner18now!]

This may have legs if the Celts drafted a point guard like the kind from Germany or Larkin.
I would think if they wanted to move Rondo they would have done that. Ainge is not going to give Rondo away.

[Celtics18]

Just don't see him finishing the season as a C. If he plays and is healthy he is too good that we won't be able to tank effectively.

Stein when asked if Rondo SHOULD  (not would) be traded.

Stein: Doesn't matter what you or I think. Ainge is going to do it whether or not we push for it. Word on the street is that Ainge is worried more about the 2014 lottery than the standings. If that's the case, everyone in Boston will be much happier if Rondo is dealt before they ask him to try to stomach the nightly grind of being the face of a team just starting to rebuild.

I think "word on the street" is a euphemism for "I read it on the internet."

It's probably off the top of the head ideas from NBA executives, reporters, scouts, and rival GMs. I doubt it has to do with the internet bc Stein is the internet in this scenario.

I feel fairly confident saying that I don't believe this guy has any reliable inside information on anything Danny Ainge is going to do with this team.   

[BballTim]

no it won't

Let's say you're an NBA GM. You're telling me that for the same money, you would rather pay Jrue Holiday to play for your team rather than Rajon Rondo?

Yes... both are all-star point guards.   One is 23 years old without a torn ACL.  The other is 27 years old with a torn ACL, serious flaws in his offensive game and a frequently reported attitude problem.

  One's led a team on multiple deep playoff runs. The other hasn't. And the one with "serious flaws in his offensive game" has much more of a positive impact on his team's offense than the other guy. That's more important than you realize.

I'm sorry Tim but are we supposed to draw some sort of meaning for this post? Rondo didn't 'lead' a team with Garnett, Pierce and Allen on it -- he followed. And in many cases, watched, due to his ridiculous inability to shoot a basketball from the charity stripe.

  The meaning might be that it's not 2008 any more, and Rondo's not following the big three any more. Just like is hasn't been true since 2008  that "Rondo, in many cases, watched". Unless by "in many cases, watched" you mean "played more minutes a game than anyone else on the team".

Look, Rondo's an excellent player, but making him better because he was lucky enough to land on the Celtics in the right place at the right time is of course a pile of horse hair. Fact is the guy is decidedly better than Holliday at some things, an decided worse at others.

  LeBron's decidedly better than Ray at some things, decidedly worse than Ray at others. That doesn't in any way imply that they're equal, just like Rondo and Holliday aren't equal (although the LeBron/Ray gap is clearly much wider). It's true Rondo was lucky to have KG/PP/RA on his team, it's also true that he's been our best player for quite some time.

[rondoallaturca]

Comparing Rondo and Holiday is like comparing Lebron and Melo. They play the same position, but the play it so differently. And one of them has that competitive desire to win, while the other is far more complacent.

I'm not trying to downplay Holiday as a player, especially when he's a fellow Bruin. He's a good player, but you'd be a fool to take him over Rondo.

[Kane3387]

Comparing Rondo and Holiday is like comparing Lebron and Melo. They play the same position, but the play it so differently. And one of them has that competitive desire to win, while the other is far more complacent.

I'm not trying to downplay Holiday as a player, especially when he's a fellow Bruin. He's a good player, but you'd be a fool to take him over Rondo.

Depends on the ACL. Michael Redd never recovered. It's a brutal injury.

[rondoallaturca]

Comparing Rondo and Holiday is like comparing Lebron and Melo. They play the same position, but the play it so differently. And one of them has that competitive desire to win, while the other is far more complacent.

I'm not trying to downplay Holiday as a player, especially when he's a fellow Bruin. He's a good player, but you'd be a fool to take him over Rondo.

Depends on the ACL. Michael Redd never recovered. It's a brutal injury.

Well didn't Redd not only suffer an ACL tear, but also a MCL tear? Furthermore, weren't the tears significant? Not just that, but Redd did not take his first rehab seriously. I remember just a year later, he tore both his ACL and MCL again.

Meanwhile, Rondo only suffered a partial ACL tear. He's a warrior and a competitor, and from all the reports I've heard so far, he's working hard on rehab and is even ahead of schedule.

[bfrombleacher]

Comparing Rondo and Holiday is like comparing Lebron and Melo. They play the same position, but the play it so differently. And one of them has that competitive desire to win, while the other is far more complacent.

I'm not trying to downplay Holiday as a player, especially when he's a fellow Bruin. He's a good player, but you'd be a fool to take him over Rondo.

Depends on the ACL. Michael Redd never recovered. It's a brutal injury.

I forgot how Redd was injured. Just remembered him as another player in the shot jacking, overpaid, never played category.

Now that you mention I remember him having a nagging injury of sorts.

Wikipedia says it's a bum knee. Both ACL and MCL. The injury was indeed nagging.

Rondo doesn't seem to have this, though. His ACL was a partial tear. His prior injuries were wear and tear from being a 6'1 guard with no jump shot.

Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise for Rondo. The team stinks but he'll get a full recovery rather than be tempted to rush into action.

Edit: Someone beat me to the punch.

[clover]

why trade rondo, at his lowest value, if he doesnt have to play next year?

I kind of agree... he'd basically be playing the role of Pierce on the 2007 Celtics.   Tank, get a top pick, bring back Rondo healthy.

But... Rondo is a bit of a headcase.  He doesn't have KG, Ray, Pierce and Doc to reel him in anymore.  He might come back semi-healthy, under-perform while playing for a tanking team and demand a trade... which would put us in a very awkward position.  So maybe you jump at a trade now before he kills his trade value even more.

Someone might want to gamble on the "playoff superstar rondo" myth... before his warts get exposed surrounded by nobodies.

Agreed.  Rondo's stock has always had a high beta.  Better to get him out of the portfolio now rather than hold for a new elusive top.