Ainge: Rondo is "the centerpiece of our future"

[BleedGreen1989]

A question just occurred to me:

When was the last time a player of Rondo's quality was traded for a player of equal or greater quality?

I'm asking because a lot of the biggest recent trades I can remember with star players (CP, Harden, DH, etc.) have been "quarter-for-three-dimes" types. I'm sure I'm missing something.

I realize this may spark a debate about Rondo's quality, but let's just say that we're looking for instances in which a multi-time All-Star/All-NBA player was traded for someone arguably better. Or equal.

All the players you listed are players that wanted out of their team or the team could no longer afford them.

What this guy said.

All accounts Ainge loves Rondo and will award him with the max if things go appropriately.

[LooseCannon]

A question just occurred to me:

When was the last time a player of Rondo's quality was traded for a player of equal or greater quality?

I'm asking because a lot of the biggest recent trades I can remember with star players (CP, Harden, DH, etc.) have been "quarter-for-three-dimes" types. I'm sure I'm missing something.

I realize this may spark a debate about Rondo's quality, but let's just say that we're looking for instances in which a multi-time All-Star/All-NBA player was traded for someone arguably better. Or equal.

Iverson for Billups?

Although I guess that depends on how  you feel about 2008 AI and 2008 Chauncey.

Those guys each had multiple All-Star appearances both before and after the trade (deserving or not).

A year after his fourth and final All-Star game, Shawn Marion was traded (with Marcus Banks) for Shaquille O'Neal.

Gary Payton and stuff for Ray Allen and stuff.

There are no contract-related reasons to trade Rondo.  Trading him for peanuts because you want to lose more games is just flat-out idiotic.  The only good reason to trade Rondo is because you are getting more value coming back than you are sending out, putting you in a position to win more games.

[NocturnalRebel]

A question just occurred to me:

When was the last time a player of Rondo's quality was traded for a player of equal or greater quality?

I'm asking because a lot of the biggest recent trades I can remember with star players (CP, Harden, DH, etc.) have been "quarter-for-three-dimes" types. I'm sure I'm missing something.

I realize this may spark a debate about Rondo's quality, but let's just say that we're looking for instances in which a multi-time All-Star/All-NBA player was traded for someone arguably better. Or equal.

Iverson for Billups?

Although I guess that depends on how  you feel about 2008 AI and 2008 Chauncey.

Those guys each had multiple All-Star appearances both before and after the trade (deserving or not).

A year after his fourth and final All-Star game, Shawn Marion was traded (with Marcus Banks) for Shaquille O'Neal.

Gary Payton and stuff for Ray Allen and stuff.

There are no contract-related reasons to trade Rondo.  Trading him for peanuts because you want to lose more games is just flat-out idiotic.  The only good reason to trade Rondo is because you are getting more value coming back than you are sending out, putting you in a position to win more games.

Chuuuuch

[D.o.s.]

A question just occurred to me:

When was the last time a player of Rondo's quality was traded for a player of equal or greater quality?

I'm asking because a lot of the biggest recent trades I can remember with star players (CP, Harden, DH, etc.) have been "quarter-for-three-dimes" types. I'm sure I'm missing something.

I realize this may spark a debate about Rondo's quality, but let's just say that we're looking for instances in which a multi-time All-Star/All-NBA player was traded for someone arguably better. Or equal.

Iverson for Billups?

Although I guess that depends on how  you feel about 2008 AI and 2008 Chauncey.

Those guys each had multiple All-Star appearances both before and after the trade (deserving or not).

A year after his fourth and final All-Star game, Shawn Marion was traded (with Marcus Banks) for Shaquille O'Neal.

Gary Payton and stuff for Ray Allen and stuff.

There are no contract-related reasons to trade Rondo.  Trading him for peanuts because you want to lose more games is just flat-out idiotic.  The only good reason to trade Rondo is because you are getting more value coming back than you are sending out, putting you in a position to win more games.

Chuuuuch

If anyone doesn't know, that's an agreement.

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

Did Rondo do something to LarBrd33 as a child?

[PhoSita]

Of course Rondo is the centerpiece; he's the only major asset they have right now.

I think it's far more likely he'll contribute to the team's future by being traded for key pieces, but he could also stick around if the team gets a nice high pick even without trading him.

Rondo + top 5 pick + decent free agent addition could turn this team into a competitive bunch pretty quickly.  I wouldn't be surprised if that's Ainge's dream scenario right now.

[NocturnalRebel]

A question just occurred to me:

When was the last time a player of Rondo's quality was traded for a player of equal or greater quality?

I'm asking because a lot of the biggest recent trades I can remember with star players (CP, Harden, DH, etc.) have been "quarter-for-three-dimes" types. I'm sure I'm missing something.

I realize this may spark a debate about Rondo's quality, but let's just say that we're looking for instances in which a multi-time All-Star/All-NBA player was traded for someone arguably better. Or equal.

Iverson for Billups?

Although I guess that depends on how  you feel about 2008 AI and 2008 Chauncey.

Those guys each had multiple All-Star appearances both before and after the trade (deserving or not).

A year after his fourth and final All-Star game, Shawn Marion was traded (with Marcus Banks) for Shaquille O'Neal.

Gary Payton and stuff for Ray Allen and stuff.

There are no contract-related reasons to trade Rondo.  Trading him for peanuts because you want to lose more games is just flat-out idiotic.  The only good reason to trade Rondo is because you are getting more value coming back than you are sending out, putting you in a position to win more games.

Chuuuuch

If anyone doesn't know, that's an agreement.

Haha thanks for clearing that up. I was wondering if anyone would catch that.

[D.o.s.]

Nothing against CB but I just pictured a bunch of dudes staring at that post saying "what on earth does that mean" in the Chappelle-as-white-guy voice.

[Celtics18]

Of course Rondo is the centerpiece; he's the only major asset they have right now.

I think it's far more likely he'll contribute to the team's future by being traded for key pieces, but he could also stick around if the team gets a nice high pick even without trading him.

Rondo + top 5 pick + decent free agent addition could turn this team into a competitive bunch pretty quickly.  I wouldn't be surprised if that's Ainge's dream scenario right now.

I'm curious what sort of "key pieces" you think he's likely to get traded for?

[Snakehead]

Nothing against CB but I just pictured a bunch of dudes staring at that post saying "what on earth does that mean" in the Chappelle-as-white-guy voice.

You were not alone.

[Boris Badenov]

A question just occurred to me:

When was the last time a player of Rondo's quality was traded for a player of equal or greater quality?

I'm asking because a lot of the biggest recent trades I can remember with star players (CP, Harden, DH, etc.) have been "quarter-for-three-dimes" types. I'm sure I'm missing something.

I realize this may spark a debate about Rondo's quality, but let's just say that we're looking for instances in which a multi-time All-Star/All-NBA player was traded for someone arguably better. Or equal.

Iverson for Billups?

Although I guess that depends on how  you feel about 2008 AI and 2008 Chauncey.

Those guys each had multiple All-Star appearances both before and after the trade (deserving or not).

A year after his fourth and final All-Star game, Shawn Marion was traded (with Marcus Banks) for Shaquille O'Neal.

Gary Payton and stuff for Ray Allen and stuff.

There are no contract-related reasons to trade Rondo.  Trading him for peanuts because you want to lose more games is just flat-out idiotic.  The only good reason to trade Rondo is because you are getting more value coming back than you are sending out, putting you in a position to win more games.

All the players you listed are players that wanted out of their team or the team could no longer afford them.

What this guy said.

All accounts Ainge loves Rondo and will award him with the max if things go appropriately.

Yeah, I guess all of this tells me that a Rondo trade is pretty unlikely. Danny has little motive to unload Rondo for nothing (esp. when he's on the bench).

And, lateral trades seem pretty rare.

And, this has been discussed elsewhere but trading Rondo for picks or unproven young guys is giving up way too much - particularly when we have plenty of picks and young guys already.

Why then are Simmons et al. so convinced we're moving him? The whole thing confuses me.

[D.o.s.]

A question just occurred to me:

When was the last time a player of Rondo's quality was traded for a player of equal or greater quality?

I'm asking because a lot of the biggest recent trades I can remember with star players (CP, Harden, DH, etc.) have been "quarter-for-three-dimes" types. I'm sure I'm missing something.

I realize this may spark a debate about Rondo's quality, but let's just say that we're looking for instances in which a multi-time All-Star/All-NBA player was traded for someone arguably better. Or equal.

Iverson for Billups?

Although I guess that depends on how  you feel about 2008 AI and 2008 Chauncey.

Those guys each had multiple All-Star appearances both before and after the trade (deserving or not).

A year after his fourth and final All-Star game, Shawn Marion was traded (with Marcus Banks) for Shaquille O'Neal.

Gary Payton and stuff for Ray Allen and stuff.

There are no contract-related reasons to trade Rondo.  Trading him for peanuts because you want to lose more games is just flat-out idiotic.  The only good reason to trade Rondo is because you are getting more value coming back than you are sending out, putting you in a position to win more games.

All the players you listed are players that wanted out of their team or the team could no longer afford them.

What this guy said.

All accounts Ainge loves Rondo and will award him with the max if things go appropriately.

Yeah, I guess all of this tells me that a Rondo trade is pretty unlikely. Danny has little motive to unload Rondo for nothing (esp. when he's on the bench).

And, lateral trades seem pretty rare.

And, this has been discussed elsewhere but trading Rondo for picks or unproven young guys is giving up way too much - particularly when we have plenty of picks and young guys already.

Why then are Simmons et al. so convinced we're moving him? The whole thing confuses me.

Probably because Simmons seems to have internalized my least favorite catchism of the offseason, that "mediocrity is the worst place  to be in the NBA," and the 'conventional wisdom' that states that since Rondo is unlikely to be the best player on a title team--but will still prevent us from being awful--he's gotta go so we can hit the bottom properly.

[chambers]

A question just occurred to me:

When was the last time a player of Rondo's quality was traded for a player of equal or greater quality?

I'm asking because a lot of the biggest recent trades I can remember with star players (CP, Harden, DH, etc.) have been "quarter-for-three-dimes" types. I'm sure I'm missing something.

I realize this may spark a debate about Rondo's quality, but let's just say that we're looking for instances in which a multi-time All-Star/All-NBA player was traded for someone arguably better. Or equal.

Iverson for Billups?

Although I guess that depends on how  you feel about 2008 AI and 2008 Chauncey.

Those guys each had multiple All-Star appearances both before and after the trade (deserving or not).

A year after his fourth and final All-Star game, Shawn Marion was traded (with Marcus Banks) for Shaquille O'Neal.

Gary Payton and stuff for Ray Allen and stuff.

There are no contract-related reasons to trade Rondo.  Trading him for peanuts because you want to lose more games is just flat-out idiotic.  The only good reason to trade Rondo is because you are getting more value coming back than you are sending out, putting you in a position to win more games.

All the players you listed are players that wanted out of their team or the team could no longer afford them.

What this guy said.

All accounts Ainge loves Rondo and will award him with the max if things go appropriately.

Yeah, I guess all of this tells me that a Rondo trade is pretty unlikely. Danny has little motive to unload Rondo for nothing (esp. when he's on the bench).

And, lateral trades seem pretty rare.

And, this has been discussed elsewhere but trading Rondo for picks or unproven young guys is giving up way too much - particularly when we have plenty of picks and young guys already.

Why then are Simmons et al. so convinced we're moving him? The whole thing confuses me.

Simmons is always 50/50. At time he sounds pretty keyed in, at other times he is completely clueless. He's funny and I do love him but his basketball reasoning is often WAY off.
Anyway, enough Simmons rant.

His reasoning (in my opinion) is because Ainge is a numbers guy.
He's also a 'championship or bust' kinda guy too.
He won't hang around in mediocrity. He's also not letting on how much he likes certain players in this draft- in fact he's actually lied (in my opinion, again) about 'potential stars' in this super draft. I don't see why he'd say that unless he's covering up his real motives (which he loves to do and has done so many a time). I mean he's saying there are no franchise guys in this draft yet it's the most touted draft in 10 years, and we hadn't seen them play a second of college basketball. That simply doesn't make sense if you think about it- especially from a smart guy like Ainge.

He's either going to find a star to pair with Rondo, or he'll draft the star. If an offer is good enough, he might decide to also move Rondo if he see's a shot at another top 10 pick.
It really doesn't matter if you think picks and unproven young guys are not enough. Michael Jordan and Larry Bird were picks and unproven young guys at one point. Ainge is the ultimate decider in who might fit that destiny in a C's uniform.

I think he'll basically load up on assets, while listening to offers. He'll try to get us a star before the draft. If we need our pick to get that star then so be it. If we can't find a way to get that star to Boston then there's a very good chance that he seriously looks at going for the double take in the lottery by trading Rondo for a top 10 pick.

People are really not understanding the seriousness of Rondo's free agency. He can basically walk away from the Celtics in 18 months- something is going to happen before then and Ainge is sewing the seeds now. He's keep all his options open and will dangle each option out to see who bites- and who wants the biggest piece.

[BballTim]

A question just occurred to me:

When was the last time a player of Rondo's quality was traded for a player of equal or greater quality?

I'm asking because a lot of the biggest recent trades I can remember with star players (CP, Harden, DH, etc.) have been "quarter-for-three-dimes" types. I'm sure I'm missing something.

I realize this may spark a debate about Rondo's quality, but let's just say that we're looking for instances in which a multi-time All-Star/All-NBA player was traded for someone arguably better. Or equal.

Iverson for Billups?

Although I guess that depends on how  you feel about 2008 AI and 2008 Chauncey.

Those guys each had multiple All-Star appearances both before and after the trade (deserving or not).

A year after his fourth and final All-Star game, Shawn Marion was traded (with Marcus Banks) for Shaquille O'Neal.

Gary Payton and stuff for Ray Allen and stuff.

There are no contract-related reasons to trade Rondo.  Trading him for peanuts because you want to lose more games is just flat-out idiotic.  The only good reason to trade Rondo is because you are getting more value coming back than you are sending out, putting you in a position to win more games.

  All of the trades above included at least 1 player that was well on the downside of their careers. Which isn't what you'd hope for if you trade a player like Rondo. Some of the players involved were in bad relationships with their teams. There's really no burning reason to trade Rondo other than wanting the team to get worse (better draft picks in the future).

[BballTim]

Of course Rondo is the centerpiece; he's the only major asset they have right now.

I think it's far more likely he'll contribute to the team's future by being traded for key pieces, but he could also stick around if the team gets a nice high pick even without trading him.

Rondo + top 5 pick + decent free agent addition could turn this team into a competitive bunch pretty quickly.  I wouldn't be surprised if that's Ainge's dream scenario right now.

  He's probably hoping for a good draft pick, he's probably also aware that he's got a boatload of upcoming picks that he could trade with a contract for a star if necessary. There are plenty of ways forward.