Chad Ford on Rondo

[KCattheStripe]

If Rondo is as big a problem as people make him out to be, some ex-caltic would have brought it up by now. Ray would have blown him up, Doc would have blown him up. Instead Ray blamed Danny for why he left, and Doc said their relationship was fine. pierce and KG wouldn't have felt bad about leaving him behind like they said in their ESPN interview after the trade. He wouldn't have been Perkin's best man,  Dooling wouldn't have considered him a little brother.

[TwinTower14]

And frankly I don't need to see any of that to see Rondo has an attitude problem.  You can see it when he is on the court as it is all over his face.  He is way too emotional when he plays and it affects his game far too much.  Some cockiness and swagger is required, but Rondo goes to the extreme on both of those and it is just apparent.  You are kidding yourself if you think otherwise.

#HotSportsTake?

I agree with this - two situations stand out to me.  Not calling the league office back and getting suspended for a game against he Knicks and bumping an official in playoff game and getting suspended. 

[2short]

So its official?  Rondo close to coming back and the rondo haters who have been lurking in bushes (or hating on jeff green) have made a comeback.....

[CFAN38]

I think if rondo gets traded it comes down to championship window. Rondo is 28, James is 29. Lebron has a solid 4 more years in his prime. DA has to realistically feel that he can surround rondo with enough talent to knock off James in order to build around rondo. If he doesn't think this is possible then he needs to construct a team out of you g guys and continue to build assets so he is ready when James starts to slip. In 5 years when AB and sully are hitting their primes the landscape of the nba will be much different. This may also be why Stevens got such a long term deal. This also is why getting one of the top 6 guys this year is so important.

  There's no way Danny will wait until LeBron gets old before he tries to contend. Even if he did, he'd have to face Durant in his prime, and then after that it will be someone else.

My point is that if Danny doesn't see a clear Rondo+X+Y= contender like he found with KG + Ray + PP then we might just have to wait it out with youth. Say the Cs get the 5th pick and land Marcus Smart, then Rondo is traded for youth and picks. If smart pans out and the team is built around him. Fast forward 3 years and Smart is 24, Avery is 26 and sully is 25. James would then be 32

[rondofan1255]

I wish Rondo would come back later. Not sure he's ready to be Rondo at this point. We'll see though.

[fitzhickey]

So its official?  Rondo close to coming back and the rondo haters who have been lurking in bushes (or hating on jeff green) have made a comeback.....

They're been oh so missed smh

[D.o.s.]

And frankly I don't need to see any of that to see Rondo has an attitude problem.  You can see it when he is on the court as it is all over his face.  He is way too emotional when he plays and it affects his game far too much.  Some cockiness and swagger is required, but Rondo goes to the extreme on both of those and it is just apparent.  You are kidding yourself if you think otherwise.

#HotSportsTake?

I agree with this - two situations stand out to me.  Not calling the league office back and getting suspended for a game against he Knicks and bumping an official in playoff game and getting suspended.

Sure. I just think that complaining about "too much swagger and cockiness" when many CB posters have been pining for Jeff Green to step up since, well, forever, is a little hilarious. Also it comes off as condescending, but Moranis is a smart poster so I don't think that was intentional.

You can never have too much swagger. IMO.

[LooseCannon]

I think if rondo gets traded it comes down to championship window. Rondo is 28, James is 29. Lebron has a solid 4 more years in his prime. DA has to realistically feel that he can surround rondo with enough talent to knock off James in order to build around rondo. If he doesn't think this is possible then he needs to construct a team out of you g guys and continue to build assets so he is ready when James starts to slip. In 5 years when AB and sully are hitting their primes the landscape of the nba will be much different. This may also be why Stevens got such a long term deal. This also is why getting one of the top 6 guys this year is so important.

  There's no way Danny will wait until LeBron gets old before he tries to contend. Even if he did, he'd have to face Durant in his prime, and then after that it will be someone else.

My point is that if Danny doesn't see a clear Rondo+X+Y= contender like he found with KG + Ray + PP then we might just have to wait it out with youth. Say the Cs get the 5th pick and land Marcus Smart, then Rondo is traded for youth and picks. If smart pans out and the team is built around him. Fast forward 3 years and Smart is 24, Avery is 26 and sully is 25. James would then be 32

I think you're too hung up on age.  One, transcendental talents like James are often effective into their mid-30s.  Second, having a bunch of young talent hitting their peak at the same time under the new CBA can lead to the sort of payroll crunch that caused OKC to trade James Harden.

Your ideal three-man core should be to have a guy in his prime worth the max, a guy on his rookie-scale contract who is cheap talent on the rise, and a mature older star who has a ton of money in the bank and is willing to sacrifice to win a title.  That's a difficult trio to pull off, partly because having the two older players makes it less likely you can draft a core young player.

I don't think Ainge should wait around looking for a sure-fire contender of Rondo+X+Y.  I think his goal should be to assemble a team by the end of next season that is a player away from being a contender, with the assets and payroll flexibility to acquire that player.  If you're trying to build a new Big Three around Rondo, it may be a year between acquiring Player X and acquiring Player Y.

[footey]

am surprised that Rondo is about to turn 28.  Seems like yesterday he was 20.

[manl_lui]

I think if rondo gets traded it comes down to championship window. Rondo is 28, James is 29. Lebron has a solid 4 more years in his prime. DA has to realistically feel that he can surround rondo with enough talent to knock off James in order to build around rondo. If he doesn't think this is possible then he needs to construct a team out of you g guys and continue to build assets so he is ready when James starts to slip. In 5 years when AB and sully are hitting their primes the landscape of the nba will be much different. This may also be why Stevens got such a long term deal. This also is why getting one of the top 6 guys this year is so important.

  There's no way Danny will wait until LeBron gets old before he tries to contend. Even if he did, he'd have to face Durant in his prime, and then after that it will be someone else.

My point is that if Danny doesn't see a clear Rondo+X+Y= contender like he found with KG + Ray + PP then we might just have to wait it out with youth. Say the Cs get the 5th pick and land Marcus Smart, then Rondo is traded for youth and picks. If smart pans out and the team is built around him. Fast forward 3 years and Smart is 24, Avery is 26 and sully is 25. James would then be 32

theoretically, James at 32 would still be a beast and would still destroy Smart, Sully and Bradley

[Moranis]

And frankly I don't need to see any of that to see Rondo has an attitude problem.  You can see it when he is on the court as it is all over his face.  He is way too emotional when he plays and it affects his game far too much.  Some cockiness and swagger is required, but Rondo goes to the extreme on both of those and it is just apparent.  You are kidding yourself if you think otherwise.

#HotSportsTake?

I agree with this - two situations stand out to me.  Not calling the league office back and getting suspended for a game against he Knicks and bumping an official in playoff game and getting suspended.

Sure. I just think that complaining about "too much swagger and cockiness" when many CB posters have been pining for Jeff Green to step up since, well, forever, is a little hilarious. Also it comes off as condescending, but Moranis is a smart poster so I don't think that was intentional.

You can never have too much swagger. IMO.

I disagree well with at least how Rondo uses his anyway.  He just isn't controlled like Garnett out there, but even Garnett goes too far too often, he just has a different measure about him and he doesn't let his mood affect his play like Rondo does.  Rondo just comes off smug, stubborn, and arrogant all of which in moderation are fine, but moderation is not in Rondo's dna.

[Moranis]

I think if rondo gets traded it comes down to championship window. Rondo is 28, James is 29. Lebron has a solid 4 more years in his prime. DA has to realistically feel that he can surround rondo with enough talent to knock off James in order to build around rondo. If he doesn't think this is possible then he needs to construct a team out of you g guys and continue to build assets so he is ready when James starts to slip. In 5 years when AB and sully are hitting their primes the landscape of the nba will be much different. This may also be why Stevens got such a long term deal. This also is why getting one of the top 6 guys this year is so important.

  There's no way Danny will wait until LeBron gets old before he tries to contend. Even if he did, he'd have to face Durant in his prime, and then after that it will be someone else.

My point is that if Danny doesn't see a clear Rondo+X+Y= contender like he found with KG + Ray + PP then we might just have to wait it out with youth. Say the Cs get the 5th pick and land Marcus Smart, then Rondo is traded for youth and picks. If smart pans out and the team is built around him. Fast forward 3 years and Smart is 24, Avery is 26 and sully is 25. James would then be 32

theoretically, James at 32 would still be a beast and would still destroy Smart, Sully and Bradley

Yeah, barring injury James will still be a top two or three player in the world at 32 if not the best player in the world.  I have no doubt in that.

[nickagneta]

I think if rondo gets traded it comes down to championship window. Rondo is 28, James is 29. Lebron has a solid 4 more years in his prime. DA has to realistically feel that he can surround rondo with enough talent to knock off James in order to build around rondo. If he doesn't think this is possible then he needs to construct a team out of you g guys and continue to build assets so he is ready when James starts to slip. In 5 years when AB and sully are hitting their primes the landscape of the nba will be much different. This may also be why Stevens got such a long term deal. This also is why getting one of the top 6 guys this year is so important.

  There's no way Danny will wait until LeBron gets old before he tries to contend. Even if he did, he'd have to face Durant in his prime, and then after that it will be someone else.

My point is that if Danny doesn't see a clear Rondo+X+Y= contender like he found with KG + Ray + PP then we might just have to wait it out with youth. Say the Cs get the 5th pick and land Marcus Smart, then Rondo is traded for youth and picks. If smart pans out and the team is built around him. Fast forward 3 years and Smart is 24, Avery is 26 and sully is 25. James would then be 32

I think you're too hung up on age.  One, transcendental talents like James are often effective into their mid-30s.  Second, having a bunch of young talent hitting their peak at the same time under the new CBA can lead to the sort of payroll crunch that caused OKC to trade James Harden.

Your ideal three-man core should be to have a guy in his prime worth the max, a guy on his rookie-scale contract who is cheap talent on the rise, and a mature older star who has a ton of money in the bank and is willing to sacrifice to win a title.  That's a difficult trio to pull off, partly because having the two older players makes it less likely you can draft a core young player.

I don't think Ainge should wait around looking for a sure-fire contender of Rondo+X+Y.  I think his goal should be to assemble a team by the end of next season that is a player away from being a contender, with the assets and payroll flexibility to acquire that player.  If you're trying to build a new Big Three around Rondo, it may be a year between acquiring Player X and acquiring Player Y.

Don't forget that although we have a raft of draft picks, even if we use all the draft picks we are allowed to trade in trades to assemble a team that is just one player away, that player will probably be added in a high draft pick as I doubt the C's trade Brooklyn's 2016 pick. That would be the most likely time for Boston to score a high lottery pick after this year so as long as Danny is planning everything right, that player added could be a Rookie of the Year stud.

That's why I think its important to keep Rondo. The draft picks included in trades with young talent should be able to land a significant disgruntled UFA or two in sign and trades. Add Kevin Love or LaMarcus Aldridge with one of Marc Gasol or Chris Bosh to Rondo, this years picks and some role players. Then in 2016 possibly add another stud youngster and I think this team could return to contender very quickly.

[BballTim]

I think the only people that Rondo has "chemistry issues" with are members of the sports media.

Ray Allen comes to mind.

There have been other reports of him rubbing teammates the wrong way. In the 2009-2010 season he was frustrated feeding the ball to Paul/Kevin as they were working back from injury and that caused some friction as well.

Rondo's not JR Smith or anything like that, but he's not Eddie House either.

  Ray had a problem with Rondo. And Avery. And Doc. And KG. And PP. And I'm sure that plenty of things that happen get Rondo a little frustrated, but from everything I saw and heard there was little to no friction or chemistry issues between KG and Rondo, in fact I'd say they had exceptional chemistry.

Well....

As the wheels rolled back and the team jet lifted out of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, the season’s most humiliating loss dangled like an anvil inside the Boston Celtics’ charter flight. Kevin Garnett was still out, the playoffs were 10 days away and Rajon Rondo directed his teammates to gather in the back of the cabin.

“Go ahead,” Doc Rivers warned his players, “but it will be an awful meeting.”

Rondo appeared to want his teammates to air out complaints in the early evening of April 14, but it rapidly deteriorated into a grievance session that had the uncomfortable vibe of the young guys against the Big 3 of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. For some Celtics, there was a sense that Rondo had prodded the younger teammates to speak out on the tough-love tactics of the vets.

Rondo never vented, but one teammate who had challenged K.G. later confessed privately that he wished he had never spoken up, that he didn’t even believe the whiny words tumbling out of his mouth. Rondo insists he had the best of intentions, and yet there’s no mistaking the fact the meeting served to widen a gulf between him and his older teammates.

  This came up in another thread ( http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=69169.0 ):

Absolutely,” Garnett said when asked if Rondo being on the court will make his return to Boston mean even more. “That’s a little brother, man. We all grew together. When we grew, it wasn’t something we did minimally. We all gave all of ourselves to each other, and we grew in that. That connection, you grow with it through time, and it’s one of them connections that you look at as forever.

“That’s my little brother. I love Rondo. He knows that, and I would do anything for him. All in all, I’m just happy that he’s back, and I’m just happy he’s able to be healthy and continue to be able to do one of the things he does best.”


  If you're going to claim KG says things like that about all of his former teammates show me some similar quotes about Ray since he left the team first.

[ssspence]

Rondo's chemistry with the championship team members (from strongest to weakest):

1. Perk
2. KG
3. The Truth
4. Doc
5. Ray