He has a lot of work to do to be a max player at the PG position.  The position is so deep in the NBA right now, that he is going to need to take his game up another level to be a max player IMO.  And a lot of that will have to do with leadership and consistency, which could come now that he is out of KG and Pierce's shadow.  But if he does that, I have no problem with paying him. 

 I want to get the feel for what you guys think about this now before he's come back. Just the general idea of signing are soon to be 29 year old slightly flawed, championship point guard coming off ACL injury. This single issue will go a long way in determining if we should explore these wild trade ideas.

  29 isn't that old. If he was 3-4 years older it would be a legitimate question.

Quote from: KG Living Legend on December 17, 2013, 09:56:28 AM

 I want to get the feel for what you guys think about this now before he's come back. Just the general idea of signing are soon to be 29 year old slightly flawed, championship point guard coming off ACL injury. This single issue will go a long way in determining if we should explore these wild trade ideas.

  29 isn't that old. If he was 3-4 years older it would be a legitimate question.

This is the real tough thing to predict with Rondo.  You are right that 29 isn't too old.  But, it is just old enough that certain concerns come up that don't come up if he were 26.  Here are the two sides of the argument as I see it:

Con:
-His greatness largely comes from his athleticism, and it is inevitable that he will start losing that as he gets past 30
-Recovering from a knee injury is tougher when you are older
-Its rare that players will develop that much more new skills at that advanced age
-His lack of shooting will be an even bigger problem, if he doesn't have his explosiveness and quickness anymore

Pros:
-His intelligence should keep him from falling off a cliff.  Guys like Andre Miller and Jason Kidd have thrived, even at a snails pace, just because they had such a good understanding of the game.  So, while he may not remain as explosive, he should remain a very good player for a while, even if he does his athleticism.
-He seems to have the kind of gumby-like body that will probably age well.  Guys like KG, or even Iverson didn't fall off a cliff athletically until a much older age than guys without this body type. 
-His shot has been improving, and could concievably continue to improve, which will help to make up for his diminishing athleticism, because defenders will have to play up closer to him.
-With age comes wisdom and maturity, and that maturity has been a knock on him in the past, that he can hopefully put behind him.

Now, I don't know which side is right.  Which is where the gamble is.  Although I hope that we will have a much more informed opinion on this, as we see him recover from this injury over the next year and a half.

Unfortunately for the Celtics, Rondo will have exactly 10 years of NBA tenure when his contract expires, which puts his max salary at ~$20 million.

Signing him close to the max for a 9-year veteran would have probably been a no-brainer (that max is ~$17 million, and Rondo will already be making $12 million in the last year of his contract).

I'm hoping he can be convinced to sign a deal starting at $15-16 million, but who knows how it's going to pan out.

Is it impossible to imagine Rondo won't demand a max?

He's a smart man. If he wants to win another championship I could see him taking $15mill per.

Is it impossible to imagine Rondo won't demand a max?

He's a smart man. If he wants to win another championship I could see him taking $15mill per.

Another thing to keep in mind with this deal--it's likely going to be Rondo's last big contract. As you've said, he's a smart man, and he already took one steep discount.

Whatever you think is Rondo's market value, would you agree to give him a no-trade clause if he took a bit less money?

I'd probably give him either an NTC or a final year player option. It all depends on where his priorities are, and how much of a rate reduction "a bit less money" is.

How I feel about that will depend a lot on what Danny Ainge has done to add to the talent level on the rest of the roster. 

Even if Rondo ages quite well, the first 3-4 years of that contract will be Rondo's prime.  After that, his days of being a top shelf player will probably be over.  At 33-35 years old, he'll almost certainly be on the decline.  So if the Celtics are signing him to a max or near-max contract at that point, they better be prepared to compete right away.