Ian Thomson: "Rondo is gone"

[LarBrd33]

Yeah, my gut tells me Rondo is moved.

Didn't Marc Stein report something similar last week saying the Celts were looking to deal Rondo?

I just think Danny is going all in for the 2014 lottery which means dealing Rondo along with an albatross contract (Lee, Wallace) and receiving expiring contracts and another 1st rounder for next year.

This. We're all guessing here including reporters. But don't worry, Rondo will be right in the PR mix because the team has no one else to promote as a star. I predict he will not traded until the deadline and has shown he's truly back from the injury.

Trade rumors will start getting hot in a couple weeks.  The Brooklyn/Boston trade doesn't actually happen until July 12th.  Right now it's just an agreement.  Once that clears, Boston will be looking to dump Wallace and you'll start to see a lot of Rondo + Wallace trade rumors buzzing around.  Free agents can't sign contracts until July 10th... so once the bluechip talent gets snatched up, dominos will start falling and teams will look at Plan B - taking a risk on the VERY available Rajon Rondo instead.

You're not hearing major rumors yet, because technically Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are still Boston Celtics and there hasn't been a single free agent signing.  I'm not sure if Boston is allowed to shop a player they technically don't even have yet (Wallace).  Wouldn't that rustle some jimmies with the league office?

[saltlover]

Yeah, my gut tells me Rondo is moved.

Didn't Marc Stein report something similar last week saying the Celts were looking to deal Rondo?

I just think Danny is going all in for the 2014 lottery which means dealing Rondo along with an albatross contract (Lee, Wallace) and receiving expiring contracts and another 1st rounder for next year.

This. We're all guessing here including reporters. But don't worry, Rondo will be right in the PR mix because the team has no one else to promote as a star. I predict he will not traded until the deadline and has shown he's truly back from the injury.

Trade rumors will start getting hot in a couple weeks.  The Brooklyn/Boston trade doesn't actually happen until July 12th.  Right now it's just an agreement.  Once that clears, Boston will be looking to dump Wallace and you'll start to see a lot of Rondo + Wallace trade rumors buzzing around.  Free agents can't sign contracts until July 10th... so once the bluechip talent gets snatched up, dominos will start falling and teams will look at Plan B - taking a risk on the VERY available Rajon Rondo instead.

You're not hearing major rumors yet, because technically Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are still Boston Celtics and there hasn't been a single free agent signing.  I'm not sure if Boston is allowed to shop a player they technically don't even have yet (Wallace).  Wouldn't that rustle some jimmies with the league office?

While it remains to be seen how the deal is actually structured, the biggest deal with trading Wallace immediately is that you can't trade players for 60 days after a first trade unless they are the only player going one direction in a deal.  So of Wallace's salary is aggregated to some other paluer's in the trade, he can't be traded again until September.

Of course, if the C's find someone to take Wallace before July 12th, they can always add that third team to the deal on July 12th, and then it's a three-way trade the league can't possibly reject.

Still, I'd hope that taking Wallace isn't a condition of getting Rondo.  No Rondo means a couple of slow years are ahead, so what were we going to use Wallace's salary on anyway?  I'd rather we get the best package possible for Rondo if we move him, and not have Wallace's contract lessen the return.

[GreenEnvy]

Trading Rondo when his trade value is at its lowest does not seem like an Ainge kind of move.

What makes you think it is significantly lower than it ever was? The injury? I can't see anyone being scared off because his game is not predicated on athleticism. His court vision and passing ability hasn't changed, and his baseline to baseline speed also should be unaffected.

If it isn't based on his injury, I'd argue his value has dropped since 2010 and certainly won't be getting any higher on a bad team without Doc, KG, and Pierce.

Even if we aren't getting 100% of we could have gotten at some point, I'd rather get 80% now than 50% down the road.

I'd be fine with a good young player and lotto pick.

[bfrombleacher]

Boston will be looking to dump Wallace

I don't get it.

Why do you and some of the other tanksters think Ainge will be trying to shed Wallace.

Doesn't it not matter to you guys how good the roster is in the next few years?

Even as a non-tankster, I don't think they would try and move Wallace.

[KG Living Legend]

 This is me to talking to Ian. "Thompson is Gone"

[JOMVP]

I definitely see a deal with Detroit coming soon. They want Smith, and I'm sure Smith will be pushing to get Rondo there as well.

Rondo for Drummond/Monroe, Knight, 2014 1st, is good return.

[GreenEnvy]

I definitely see a deal with Detroit coming soon. They want Smith, and I'm sure Smith will be pushing to get Rondo there as well.

Rondo for Drummond/Monroe, Knight, 2014 1st, is good return.

That's not a good return for Rondo.

It's an excellent one.

[Celtics18]

I don't think there's a coach out there that Danny could have hired that wouldn't have signified to Ian Thompsen that Rondo was a goner. 

[cltc5]

I definitely see a deal with Detroit coming soon. They want Smith, and I'm sure Smith will be pushing to get Rondo there as well.

Rondo for Drummond/Monroe, Knight, 2014 1st, is good return.

ludicrous!   I would however be in favor of 2014 Monroe and siva as the lowest option.  Would love to have siva/pressey battle for the pg spot

[clover]

It's certainly possible, but I have to question one thing: are we SURE Doc Rivers was really the cream of the crop at managing difficult players? He certainly has the rep as a "player's coach", but it's a bit of an assumption. Isn't it possible that Pierce and KG were the ones keeping him line as much as anyone?

I think this aspect of Doc's resume is a bit overrated, the "player's coach" and "managing egos", both overrated in my opinion.

If Doc was really good at this, there wouldn't be that friction between the Big 3 and the younger players.

If Doc was really good at these things he wouldn't watch his team play lazy regular season basketball and then wait to turn it up in the playoffs.

There is significant amount of evidence to argue that the Celtics have seriously underachieved under Doc Rivers.

I actually agree with this.

And Rondo is also obviously a tool.

[NocturnalRebel]

I don't get this nonsense about Rondo being gone because of this new coach. What about Brad Stevens indicates a Rondo trade? What about Brad Stevens says he won't or can't deal with Rondo? Can we watch a game or two first before going diarrhea at tha mouth?

Rondo is one of tha smartest if not the smartest player in this league. He see's tha game in a way very few do and who's to say Brad Stevens isn't one of those few? Stevens and Rondo just may be like-minded and this could work. Stevens is a young coach and will experience something new on a different level. He's taking on this challenge and I don't feel he would have taken this job if he wasn't confident in himself and his coaching abilities. I wanna see what this brotha is made of.

This will also show what Rondo is made of. He's been under Doc, Pierce, and KG for most of his Celtic career thus far and we'll see what he's picked up and learned from them. I would love to see Stevens build his way from tha bottom up with Rondo leading tha charge. Stevens just may be someone to get Rondo and who's to say they can't come together and make this work?

I was opposed to everything Danny has done thus far but now that I've taken my time to process everything, I actually like what Danny is doing. I'm optimistic about this team's future. I like tha coaching hire and I think Danny should build around Rondo. I always felt Rondo was our future and I think he's someone you can build around. With Doc, Pierce, and KG gone, what do tha C's really have to lose? A rebuild is a good time to take this risk and in my opinion this is a risk worth taking. I think Stevens is a great coach and with a great player in Rondo, Stevens and Rondo may just lead us to banner 18.

[CelticG1]

I highly doubt that if Rondo is gone the main reason is because of the hiring of Brad Stevens.

Rondo may be a pain or high maintenance but I really don't think he is this coach killer that everyone is making him out to be.

If Ainge finds good value for him great. Otherwise doesn't seem smart to base to have your decision influenced by who's coavhing him.

We need talent and value. Not crying wolf the second things change a little

[Tr1boy]

rondo is the smartest player in the game.

Than why hasn't he figured out how to shoot consistently yet after so many years. Rondo has good bbiq but he is not the smartest player in the league

[Meadowlark_Scal]

SOME of the team liked doc rivers because he is a players coach.....do you understand what that means.....it means he lets them do whatever they wish....play too much, as we have seen.....keep doing the same old tired ISO's...doc CANNOT manage a team....it isn't in him.....you think rondo was tough...look at cp3.....always complaining...fired a coach, left 2 teams, wanted to be traded again....then wanted 100 million....MAN...how do you miss all this...? Rondo signed for easy money....never wanted to be anywhere but here.....he is a TEAM CELTIC...!

[Chief]

I could see this as a Chuck Daly/ Isiah Thomas situation:

Years later, they would refer to it as "the McDonald's meeting." The Pistons were in a brutal stretch during the 1985-86 season, having dropped 13 of their previous 19 games. And Isiah Thomas, Detroit's franchise player, asked Chuck Daly to meet him at a McDonald's in suburban Detroit so they could set a few things straight.
Thomas knew Daly was on the verge of getting fired. He supported Daly, despite the Pistons' struggles, but the star point guard needed to know if Daly was as desperate to win as he was.

"Is this what you still want to do?" Thomas asked him. Daly didn't flinch. As usual, he was cool. "Let's just gut our way through it and figure out how to get it right," he said.

It was a turning point for the franchise, and for the relationship between coach and star player. Thomas went to owner Bill Davidson and asked him to stick with Daly a little longer. And Daly held up his end, guiding the Pistons to NBA championships in 1989 and 1990.

http://blog.mlive.com/fullcourtpress/2009/05/detroit_and_the_nba_loved_chuc.html