I just can't talk myself into the idea of a 5'9 guard being the centerpiece of a successful NBA team.
me neither. But 20 year old Mclemore and two 1sts for a fringe all-star PG who can't shoot?... that's an absolute haul.
When you're talking about draft picks who might turn out to be all-stars someday you refer to them as franchise cornerstones, but you refer to someone who's made 4 straight all-star games as a fringe all-star. You somehow reversed those definitions in your head.
With the amount of great PGs in the NBA I highly question him getting half that many for the rest of his career.
I spent much of the offseason hearing about how Rondo was unlikely to make any more all-star games because the other point guards were so great. Now we're seeing threads about how Jordon Crawford has a shot at being an all-star. If you've been here since 2008 or so you'd have seen numerous posts about how Rondo will never be (fill in the blank) unless he greatly improves his jump shot and ft%, with (fill in the blank) starting out as "anything other than a below average pg" and progressing through above average, having a chance at being an all-star and so on.
Every time Rondo surpasses the previous "unattainable level" the "Rondo will never" crowd just moves on to the next prediction like nothing happened. Rondo's been in the league for quite some time. If he was as bad as his detractors imagine they'd be saying "Rondo has never done" all the time instead of saying "Rondo's unlikely to ever do" about things he's already done multiple times.
Well, let's not ignore facts though. Rondo was an injury replacement in 2012 (Joe Johnson) and was voted in by the fans last year, which the fan voting being a glorified popularity contest. Let's not act as though Rondo is a sure fire all-star. Many questioned him even being on the team last year because our record was so poor.
He stays in the East and he deals with Williams, Irving, and Wall. Goes to the West and it gets worse with Paul, Curry, Lillard, Parker, and Westbrook.
Rondo was injured during much of the abbreviated voting in 2012, that's why he wasn't on the roster to begin with. Claiming that you shouldn't count a player's all-star appearances if they're voted in as starters? Hilarious.
I didn't say you shouldn't count them, but on many occasions the player was not deserving and they were popularity contests. This applied in Rondo's case last season. And it did in many years with Iverson, Yao, McGrady, Magic (HIV year), etc.
Tim, it's really great to have heroes. It makes you ignore the negative and accentuate the positive. However, that blindness

is what makes you have these constant Rondo debates with other posters. I do like Rondo, just not at the same extent you do (honestly your devotion is hard to top), but I am a realist and see the player for what he is. There are a lot of Tim's out there. There's one in New Orleans talking about Holiday. There's one in Minnesota ranting about Rubio. Hell, there is probably even someone in Miami hyping up Chalmers. It doesn't mean any of you are actually right. It just means that you've lost a grip on reality.
Rondo's a top 10 PG, he's had some great playoff moments, and he's a great passer. However, teams still don't respect his shot, he's a liability at the free throw line, he gambles too much defensively, and he's coming off of knee surgery. And you know what? It's ok to admit it, man.