Just doesn't add up that Rondo is coming back now

[Tr1boy]

If you accept the premise that Ainge views Rondo as the franchise cornerstone, how is Ainge supposed to assess/evaluate the rest of the roster without Rondo actually playing in games with those other players?

Don't think you need a PG/franchise guy to know how to assess other players. Actually when these kind of players are not playing it might be the best way to assess their talents.

We all know what Bass, Green, Humps worth are without Rondo.

[LooseCannon]

Danny wants to rebuild. He is looking fwd to the draft. So Rondo coming back could potentially complicate his plan, especially if he plays well.

Maybe Ainge just isn't uptight about where the Celtics end up drafting and can roll with it no matter which slot the pick ends up being.

[Chris]

I think he is bringing back Rondo now, because Rondo is ready to come back, and he made the trades now, because those are trades that made sense for the team, and they were available now.  I don't think there is that much more to it.

the trade made sense for the team how? 

It's to rebuild

With Rondo coming back, its so that the team plays better.

Danny wants to rebuild. He is looking fwd to the draft. So Rondo coming back could potentially complicate his plan, especially if he plays well.

Rondo could be back next year. He could play with the D league guys for the next two months.

Again i understand the main thing is that he needs to be back to pre injury levels. But the next steps can't be fully ignored either.

It made sense for the team, because it helped them add assets and flexibility going forward.

This is not a black and white "win or rebuild" thing.  Every move needs to make sense for the team going forward.  And all of these moves make sense for that.

You bring Rondo back when he is ready, because if he is ready, he should be playing, getting his legs back under him, and trying to build something for the future, while also potentially showcasing himself. 

I am all for strategy to put the team in the best situation, but you are going to have a hard time telling Rondo to sit out the rest of the year, or telling him to play in the D-league (you would have an even harder time selling that one to the Union).  Put simply, Rondo wouldn't do it.  It is better for his career to come back, and he knows it. 

And the C's don't want an unhappy Rondo.  If they have any desire to build with him, then they want him happy so he will sign a team friendly contract (or return at all), and if they want to trade him, they need him to be a good soldier, or else his value will plummet. 

And lets also not kid ourselves, adding Rondo isn't going to magically make this team a contender.  He is going to be rusty, and is on a minute limit.  It also will risk the chemistry that has been built so far this year, and could ruin the floor spacing, which has been a huge part of the little success they have had. 

When teams start thinking too much about things like tanking, that is when they make stupid moves that hurt them even more in the longrun.  Every move needs to made with a thought to the future, but it needs to be looked at much more complexly than "will this help us tank right now".

[RJ87]

I just think , there is no point of him coming back this year (unless otherwise). Likely he is going to be shut down, eventually later on this year anyways. What if the team is so bad, Rondo tries too hard and reinjures himself?

If danny wants to keep Rondo as the future PG, plus get a high pick, it wouldn't have hurt if Rondo sat out for the rest of the year or got 80 percent of his game back in the D league.

That logic makes no sense - first off, why would he be shut down later this season? If he's clearly healthy and the Celtic ls tried to stash him in the d-league, do you really not expect there to be uproar from the other teams arouns the league? The NBA exec office would come down on us hard.

[guava_wrench]

The trading of Lee, Jcraw, Brooks signals the team is ready to free themselves from contract obligations and arm with picks to build the team. Same deal with trading Humphries, Bass, and perhaps Green. But you are going against the Current with bringing back Rondo, who makes your team better.
So what is exactly Danny trying to do? 

I think you are confusing yourself by over thinking this all.

Rondo comes back when he is healthy. Period. If he is healthy now, he comes back. This is straightforward unless people are making things more complicated than they are. Teams don't not play their best players if the players are healthy unless they are resting them for the post season. You send home an irrelevant guy like Bogans. You don't sent Rondo home if he is healthy.

The Lee and Crawford trades were trades for the future. Lee was traded due to the contract. Crawford was traded to get the picks. The idea behind the Crawford move is that he had peaked and now we have a potential second half of the first round pick if Philly can improve some this year or next.

Crawford's value would have decreased with Rondo's return. His warts would have returned as he stopped focusing on initiating the offense. We also couldn't go forward with a team fielding Bayless, Crawford and Brooks alongside Rondo. These guys all want to hold the ball. They don't want to be set up by Rondo.

Don't expect all the moves to be perfect. You make the best moves available based on your goals. You can't control your draft position, but you can control the assets you acquire.

[guava_wrench]

I just think , there is no point of him coming back this year (unless otherwise). Likely he is going to be shut down, eventually later on this year anyways. What if the team is so bad, Rondo tries too hard and reinjures himself?

If danny wants to keep Rondo as the future PG, plus get a high pick, it wouldn't have hurt if Rondo sat out for the rest of the year or got 80 percent of his game back in the D league.

That logic makes no sense - first off, why would he be shut down later this season? If he's clearly healthy and the Celtic ls tried to stash him in the d-league, do you really not expect there to be uproar from the other teams arouns the league? The NBA exec office would come down on us hard.

Agreed 100%.

Rondo would also not be happy about being cast off that way.

[Lucky17]

If you accept the premise that Ainge views Rondo as the franchise cornerstone, how is Ainge supposed to assess/evaluate the rest of the roster without Rondo actually playing in games with those other players?

Don't think you need a PG/franchise guy to know how to assess other players. Actually when these kind of players are not playing it might be the best way to assess their talents.

We all know what Bass, Green, Humps worth are without Rondo.

You need a true PG. Hasn't been one on the roster all season.

Bass, Green, and Hump aren't the guys Ainge is keeping. Talking about the youngsters.

[Tr1boy]

Chris you make some interesting points. But this can't be all about Rondo's happyness.  Right now it looks like, Rondo is going to be back, he is going to be back, and lets see what happens.

There is no agenda (though you would think , its lets win). When you get a player back, especially someone like Rondo, you are not playing them to mainly warm them up. The goal is to warm them up to win. isn't that right? 

But if this is not the plan, then this thread wouldn't exist. I would understand the main goal is to warm up Rondo, then trade the other assets, and sit him down for the rest of the year. But it is very unclear instead. 

In addition Danny interested in Asik a month earlier,  makes things even foggier.

[Tr1boy]

Danny wants to rebuild. He is looking fwd to the draft. So Rondo coming back could potentially complicate his plan, especially if he plays well.

Maybe Ainge just isn't uptight about where the Celtics end up drafting and can roll with it no matter which slot the pick ends up being.

I don't think Danny is that good to take this risk

[BudweiserCeltic]

If things don't add up, use a better calculator.

[Celtics4ever]

They have to bring him back.  Would you trade for him if you didn't know he was recovered?   Would you build around him if you don't know if he is recovered or how he plays without two hall of famers?   I would not in either case.   So keep him or leave him they have to see what he has left in the tank.

We can only guess with Danny!

[Tr1boy]

They have to bring him back.  Would you trade for him if you didn't know he was recovered?   Would you build around him if you don't know if he is recovered or how he plays without two hall of famers?   I would not in either case.   So keep him or leave him they have to see what he has left in the tank.

We can only guess with Danny!

But Danny has said Rondo is the future. LOL

honestly i don't even think Danny knows what he is doing and just going with the flow. 

To me all indications is though he wants to keep rondo but also have high draft picks (unless he can trade for Love and another superstar, but you need high draft picks for that anyways).

Rondo coming back (and i'm optimistic, healthy), helping us win but leading us to nowhere, draft picks are just mediocre i guess is whats bothering me

[mmmmm]

This is certainly a bizarre

He's pretty much coming back when we expected.  He's been practicing for a while now.  And Rondo is hungry to play.

Really can't see it being weird.  If he's more than ready to play why would anyone want him sitting out for an extra month?

You really think it's a good idea if he is ready for Danny to tell him to sit for another month?

Probably not, but it definitely complicates Danny's plan moving forward...

Any "plan" that Danny has almost certainly started with the assumption that Rondo would come back and play right about now anyway.   That would have been the first-order assumption in any "plan" all the way back to the day surgery was scheduled.  The typical knee surgery takes about a calendar year to comeback from.   Rondo is right on schedule.

So I don't know why anyone would think that Rondo coming back now would 'complicate' things.

If Rondo came back last November or this coming April - THAT might have thrown a complication into the works.

[D.o.s.]

6. He's ready to play.

and??  Definitely you shouldn't sit out a player that is ready to play and needed. But again like i said, having Rondo back sort of backfires into Danny's plan.

You can't keep out a player who has been cleared to play and feels ready to play.  I don't see how you do that without exposing yourself to blatant cheating.

DNP-CD?

[Chris]

Chris you make some interesting points. But this can't be all about Rondo's happyness.  Right now it looks like, Rondo is going to be back, he is going to be back, and lets see what happens.

There is no agenda (though you would think , its lets win). When you get a player back, especially someone like Rondo, you are not playing them to mainly warm them up. The goal is to warm them up to win. isn't that right? 

But if this is not the plan, then this thread wouldn't exist. I would understand the main goal is to warm up Rondo, then trade the other assets, and sit him down for the rest of the year. But it is very unclear instead. 

In addition Danny interested in Asik a month earlier,  makes things even foggier.

You are overthinking this.  Rondo is playing because he is healthy.  Danny makes deals that make sense. 

Danny was interested in Asik, because he saw an opportunity to trade for a good player who fit a need for the team in the long and short term, for a bargain price (two repetitive talents and a non-prime draft pick). 

You are too focussed on plans.  Danny isn't forming elaborate schemes, he is making moves based on what it in the best interest of the team.  He knows that he can't have a narrow view of a "plan", because that limits the chance of success.  But, if he makes every move with the thought of how it can help the team get better going forward, then he puts them in a good position.

All of the moves help the team for the future.  That includes Rondo coming back when he is healthy.