Report: Rajon Rondo "intrigued" by Free Agency in 2015

[BballTim]

How many players in their 20's ever got to play with similar team mates like KG, Pierce and Ray Allen in a situation like Rondo's?

  I'd guess a lot more than you think. But are you talking about 2008 big three or the fringe all-stars of the last few years?
 

Has there ever been an All Star point guard that's as poor a shooter as Rondo from the FT line and 3 point line?

  Possibly not. But a 4-time all-star he is. He made those all-star games because of his overall level of play, where he does many things well enough that he's still one of the top guards in the league in spite of his shooting. It's not like he made 1 team as a fluke selection.

  I think a better question is, how many point guards have there been that would have been regular all-stars if they shot (and hit free throws) like Rondo? How many point guards would be regular all-stars if they never scored more than 14 ppg?

  It's true that he's not a great shooter. It's also true that he's been one of the best point guards in the league for a while. It's useful to notice what he does poorly, it's equally useful to notice what he does well and how well he does those things.

I know what he does well. Just trying to provide perspective because sometimes I wonder if you notice the things he doesn't do well.
I also take into consideration that he's had the rare fortune of playing with All star caliber players up until the 2011 to 2012 seasons. He's obviously improved as ours original big 3 started to drastically decline. I'm not questioning his 'his play', because he made the most of the situation he was in. I just think it's obvious that without those excellent/elite shooters around him, and his lack of shooting ability - that people will question how much their absence will affect his ability to put up numbers, particularly on the assists side of the equation. (The strongest part of his game and the one above all other skills placing to All Star level talent).

  In the interest of perspective, take a look at the "Qualified" leaders in fg% for 2013 on espn.com. PP was 12th among small forwards, KG was 13th among power forwards, Bass would be 16th among power forwards and Bradley would be 24th (last) among shooting guards. Those are the excellent/elite shooters around Rondo, and he led the league in assists by a decent margin.

 People used to talk about how much Rondo depended on Ray's shooting, that was clearly nonsense. People talk about how much Rondo is dependent on PP and KG, but as they waned as players Rondo became more productive, not less. Why didn't we see him struggle more as their play worsened?

  Look at the team this year. Rondo's not playing well at all. He's integrating himself into the team, and hasn't built up much chemistry with his teammates yet. His team is 26th in the league in fg%, so clearly he's not even surrounded by good shooters. There are only two players in the league averaging better than 1 assist per36 more than Rondo.

  If Rondo was playing as many minutes now as he was last year he'd be just over 2 assists/game lower than last year. He'd be .5 apg out of 2nd place in the league. You're claiming that Rondo would struggle to get assists without PP and KG. Is 9 assists/game "struggling to get assists"? If so, that would be where he is now, assuming he was playing equal minutes.

  What happens to Rondo's assist totals as he becomes healthier? What happens to his assist totals when he and his teammates get used to each other and they get in sync with his passes? What happens to his assist totals if his poor shooting teammates are upgraded to average or a little better than average shooters? I'd say all of these things will push the numbers up. Would you agree?

  If Rondo gets healthier (he will) and develops better chemistry with his teammates (he will) and, over time, the team gets somewhat better shooters (we all hope and pray that they will) then his assist totals will very likely go up. But his assist rate isn't that much lower than it was in the past even now.

  So where's the big dropoff in assists that Rondo will surely experience without KG and PP? You claim to know what Rondo does well. But if you were expecting a big drop in his assists without KG and PP I'd say that you really don't, or at least how well he does those things. It could turn out that you're right, that Rondo's assist rate will stay the same or worsen as Rondo gets healthier and more in sync with his teammates and we get better shooters. But I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

[BballTim]

I did this topic when it really began publicly

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=69268.msg1610624#msg1610624

People see what they want to but I was surprised how few folks saw what seemed clear. Something very recently has changed and the discussing of a properly rejected offer made no sense. Zero. Than fan base is 90% unaware of the restrictions of the CBA and if Rondo and agent refused then they already knew. Why this went public was bizarre. Listen to the Radio Interview then watch Rondo's Interview asking "who" told them?

Then Danny explicitly talks about the way he hates the term superstar and how teams are built together and not around folks which is a lot of info for week 3 in January.

I'm surprised that anyone else is surprised.

this is exactly what I was saying, something changed recently in both Rondo's and Ainge's tone, something went wrong. There was no need for these public comments by both of them

I've got some inside sources that say this is what happened:

Danny: Rondo, here's a less financially lucrative extension than you could sign in a year. It'd be great if you signed it for us, because it would be paying you substantially less than you'd get in a year and absolutely less than you'd get in an open market.

Rondo: ....nah.

(End meeting)

(Later, at Chipotle)

Rondo's agent: Tell em you're playing the field. It'll drive the price up in a year. Also pretend you're above the whole thing, but also not above it at the same time.
Rondo: Yah alright.
Rondo's agent: Literally none of this means anything right now, it's just posturing. But posture right.
Rondo: Okay.

Admittedly, my inside sources are inside only in the literal sense, in that they're inside my own head , but they're very insistent that this is what's going on. They also say I should kill Ronald Regan for Jodi Foster or something...but I think they're only joking with that one.

  Were you standing in line in a deli when you had those thoughts? Because that would add quite a bit of credibility to your source.

[BASS_THUMPER]

Nba has become such a bizness

*sippin*

[BballTim]

I did this topic when it really began publicly

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=69268.msg1610624#msg1610624

People see what they want to but I was surprised how few folks saw what seemed clear. Something very recently has changed and the discussing of a properly rejected offer made no sense. Zero. Than fan base is 90% unaware of the restrictions of the CBA and if Rondo and agent refused then they already knew. Why this went public was bizarre. Listen to the Radio Interview then watch Rondo's Interview asking "who" told them?

Then Danny explicitly talks about the way he hates the term superstar and how teams are built together and not around folks which is a lot of info for week 3 in January.

I'm surprised that anyone else is surprised.

this is exactly what I was saying, something changed recently in both Rondo's and Ainge's tone, something went wrong. There was no need for these public comments by both of them

I think people are really over dissecting these comments. I can see Rondo's agent telling him to be more diplomatic with his answers regarding his future. Afterall, Ainge has been publicly saying that they're not shopping Rondo but they're willing to listen to offers. I think Rondo is taking a similar approach, "I'd like to stay in Boston, but I'm open to the possibility of free agency."

I did a timeline for the folks claiming the Doc departure was Wyc's idea of saving money which started with the day we got eliminated and 3 days later a very spectacular trade being roundly ridiculed. 2nd interviews. Meeting, unopened letters (if you believe that your crazy, it coulda said "we release you from all contractual obligations", it didn't he knew that so he had to play dumb beyond belief.) Wyc stated on camera it was 100% started and pushed through by Doc to the point where it had to be done. A time line makes that Circus easier to follow though it will make you ill

On Jan 23 Danny says something that surprises the interviewers and anyone who has followed Danny. That info was not needed for the 95% of folks who don't know the CBA rules and expected a negotiation in Summer anywayz.

We learned that Rondo rejected it as he should....who needs to know this?

Rondo gives a terse interview demanding their sources..."who told you that?"..Danny did.  Jan 24

Danny next rebuts the build around a superstar design and gives insight to his team building strategy. Rondo is mentioned but doors again are left open.

"I've heard stories, guys getting called right at midnight. It's something that I haven't experienced. I may want to go through it. I haven't thought about it at all." Jan 31

This started with Danny who i love flapping his lips way too much and this posturing by Rondo is a direct result. He had said almost nothing prior to Jan 23.

You should brace yourself for Rondo being gone because Danny has been massaging you since the 23rd and he will not let other GM's determine Rondo's value.

Rondo is gone.

  I don't know why you think Danny claiming he's had discussions with Rondo about extending his contract is such a surprise to people. Maybe he was trying to assure people that Rondo was part of the team's future. Everything he's said about Rondo has been that they want to keep him on the team. While it's true that Danny would trade Rondo for the right offer we've heard a pretty steady stream of claims that Danny's not shopping Rondo and that it would take a very strong offer to interest him. None of this points to Rondo being gone.

[D.o.s.]

How many players in their 20's ever got to play with similar team mates like KG, Pierce and Ray Allen in a situation like Rondo's?

  I'd guess a lot more than you think. But are you talking about 2008 big three or the fringe all-stars of the last few years?
 

Has there ever been an All Star point guard that's as poor a shooter as Rondo from the FT line and 3 point line?

  Possibly not. But a 4-time all-star he is. He made those all-star games because of his overall level of play, where he does many things well enough that he's still one of the top guards in the league in spite of his shooting. It's not like he made 1 team as a fluke selection.

  I think a better question is, how many point guards have there been that would have been regular all-stars if they shot (and hit free throws) like Rondo? How many point guards would be regular all-stars if they never scored more than 14 ppg?

  It's true that he's not a great shooter. It's also true that he's been one of the best point guards in the league for a while. It's useful to notice what he does poorly, it's equally useful to notice what he does well and how well he does those things.

I know what he does well. Just trying to provide perspective because sometimes I wonder if you notice the things he doesn't do well.
I also take into consideration that he's had the rare fortune of playing with All star caliber players up until the 2011 to 2012 seasons. He's obviously improved as ours original big 3 started to drastically decline. I'm not questioning his 'his play', because he made the most of the situation he was in. I just think it's obvious that without those excellent/elite shooters around him, and his lack of shooting ability - that people will question how much their absence will affect his ability to put up numbers, particularly on the assists side of the equation. (The strongest part of his game and the one above all other skills placing to All Star level talent).

  In the interest of perspective, take a look at the "Qualified" leaders in fg% for 2013 on espn.com. PP was 12th among small forwards, KG was 13th among power forwards, Bass would be 16th among power forwards and Bradley would be 24th (last) among shooting guards. Those are the excellent/elite shooters around Rondo, and he led the league in assists by a decent margin.

 People used to talk about how much Rondo depended on Ray's shooting, that was clearly nonsense. People talk about how much Rondo is dependent on PP and KG, but as they waned as players Rondo became more productive, not less. Why didn't we see him struggle more as their play worsened?

  Look at the team this year. Rondo's not playing well at all. He's integrating himself into the team, and hasn't built up much chemistry with his teammates yet. His team is 26th in the league in fg%, so clearly he's not even surrounded by good shooters. There are only two players in the league averaging more than 1 assist per36 than Rondo.

  If Rondo was playing as many minutes now as he was last year he'd be just over 2 assists/game lower than last year. He'd be .5 apg out of 2nd place in the league. You're claiming that Rondo would struggle to get assists without PP and KG. Is 9 assists/game "struggling to get assists"? If so, that would be where he is now, assuming he was playing equal minutes.

  What happens to Rondo's assist totals as he becomes healthier? What happens to his assist totals when he and his teammates get used to each other and they get in sync with his passes? What happens to his assist totals if his poor shooting teammates are upgraded to average or a little better than average shooters? I'd say all of these things will push the numbers up. Would you agree?

  If Rondo gets healthier (he will) and develops better chemistry with his teammates (he will) and, over time, the team gets somewhat better shooters (we all hope and pray that they will) then his assist totals will very likely go up. But his assist rate isn't that much lower than it was in the past even now.

  So where's the big dropoff in assists that Rondo will surely experience without KG and PP? You claim to know what Rondo does well. But if you were expecting a big drop in his assists without KG and PP I'd say that you really don't, or at least how well he does those things. It could turn out that you're right, that Rondo's assist rate will stay the same or worsen as Rondo gets healthier and more in sync with his teammates and we get better shooters. But I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

This season Kendall Marshall is averaging a double double in points and assists, per 36 minutes.

Over his actual minutes (33 per game),  Kendall Marshall is averaging almost a double double 10-9.5

Kendall Marshall has played in 18 games so far this year.


Is his sample size too small? Are his numbers unsustainable? Shouldn't both of those questions be applied to Rondo's eight games?


If you don't think so, does that mean we should resign ourselves to the fact that post-injury Rondo is going to be less effective then Kendall Marshall?

[winsomme]

I did this topic when it really began publicly

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=69268.msg1610624#msg1610624

People see what they want to but I was surprised how few folks saw what seemed clear. Something very recently has changed and the discussing of a properly rejected offer made no sense. Zero. Than fan base is 90% unaware of the restrictions of the CBA and if Rondo and agent refused then they already knew. Why this went public was bizarre. Listen to the Radio Interview then watch Rondo's Interview asking "who" told them?

Then Danny explicitly talks about the way he hates the term superstar and how teams are built together and not around folks which is a lot of info for week 3 in January.

I'm surprised that anyone else is surprised.

this is exactly what I was saying, something changed recently in both Rondo's and Ainge's tone, something went wrong. There was no need for these public comments by both of them

I think people are really over dissecting these comments. I can see Rondo's agent telling him to be more diplomatic with his answers regarding his future. Afterall, Ainge has been publicly saying that they're not shopping Rondo but they're willing to listen to offers. I think Rondo is taking a similar approach, "I'd like to stay in Boston, but I'm open to the possibility of free agency."

I did a timeline for the folks claiming the Doc departure was Wyc's idea of saving money which started with the day we got eliminated and 3 days later a very spectacular trade being roundly ridiculed. 2nd interviews. Meeting, unopened letters (if you believe that your crazy, it coulda said "we release you from all contractual obligations", it didn't he knew that so he had to play dumb beyond belief.) Wyc stated on camera it was 100% started and pushed through by Doc to the point where it had to be done. A time line makes that Circus easier to follow though it will make you ill

On Jan 23 Danny says something that surprises the interviewers and anyone who has followed Danny. That info was not needed for the 95% of folks who don't know the CBA rules and expected a negotiation in Summer anywayz.

We learned that Rondo rejected it as he should....who needs to know this?

Rondo gives a terse interview demanding their sources..."who told you that?"..Danny did.  Jan 24

Danny next rebuts the build around a superstar design and gives insight to his team building strategy. Rondo is mentioned but doors again are left open.

"I've heard stories, guys getting called right at midnight. It's something that I haven't experienced. I may want to go through it. I haven't thought about it at all." Jan 31

This started with Danny who i love flapping his lips way too much and this posturing by Rondo is a direct result. He had said almost nothing prior to Jan 23.

You should brace yourself for Rondo being gone because Danny has been massaging you since the 23rd and he will not let other GM's determine Rondo's value.

Rondo is gone.

  I don't know why you think Danny claiming he's had discussions with Rondo about extending his contract is such a surprise to people. Maybe he was trying to assure people that Rondo was part of the team's future. Everything he's said about Rondo has been that they want to keep him on the team. While it's true that Danny would trade Rondo for the right offer we've heard a pretty steady stream of claims that Danny's not shopping Rondo and that it would take a very strong offer to interest him. None of this points to Rondo being gone.

 

Making fans feel secure isn't really Danny's MO. I'm not saying he's looking to move Rondo, but I also don't feel great that both of them are publicly discussing something that should be behind doors and not relevant for at least another year. The only reason I can think of for them to be talking about this is there are some rumblings.

I tend to think they are minor but I'd bet Rondo and his people weren't happy about Danny putting it out there that he turned down an extension. Why Danny did that I'm not sure.  Could gave been a slip... Could have been prep for a possible move... But i doubt it was to reassure fans if only because it did the opposite.

[tstorey_97]

I don't think anything has "changed" as far as Ainge's view of Rondo's next contract. This is best labeled as "Rondo's next contract" as that is what it is. It is not about "keeping Rondo" it is about his contract and Ainge's view of 5 years $80M for Rondo or Rondo as an asset in a deal for what Ainge sees as the future.

The extension discussion was a non starter obviously. It would be financial suicide for Rondo to seek anything less than the above max deal as he has earned it.

Ainge has four "Rondo deals" in front of him right now. Other NBA GM's would be irresponsible if they didn't have a "bid" on Rondo. The kid is a star and it is hard to get stars particularly a "money player" like Rondo.

I remain in the following court. Until Lebron decides this summer there is NO free agent market. Three $20M players "might" hit the market? What?! Wade, Lebron and Chris will flip the market upside down. Thus, I suggest the necessary nuts and bolts will not be aligned for a deal for Rondo.

With the above out of the way, Ainge can sign him, A. Sherod Blakely just told me they will keep Rondo (on TV) and he has much better access than I do.

[paidthecost2betheboss]

I did this topic when it really began publicly

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=69268.msg1610624#msg1610624

People see what they want to but I was surprised how few folks saw what seemed clear. Something very recently has changed and the discussing of a properly rejected offer made no sense. Zero. Than fan base is 90% unaware of the restrictions of the CBA and if Rondo and agent refused then they already knew. Why this went public was bizarre. Listen to the Radio Interview then watch Rondo's Interview asking "who" told them?

Then Danny explicitly talks about the way he hates the term superstar and how teams are built together and not around folks which is a lot of info for week 3 in January.

I'm surprised that anyone else is surprised.

this is exactly what I was saying, something changed recently in both Rondo's and Ainge's tone, something went wrong. There was no need for these public comments by both of them

I think people are really over dissecting these comments. I can see Rondo's agent telling him to be more diplomatic with his answers regarding his future. Afterall, Ainge has been publicly saying that they're not shopping Rondo but they're willing to listen to offers. I think Rondo is taking a similar approach, "I'd like to stay in Boston, but I'm open to the possibility of free agency."

I did a timeline for the folks claiming the Doc departure was Wyc's idea of saving money which started with the day we got eliminated and 3 days later a very spectacular trade being roundly ridiculed. 2nd interviews. Meeting, unopened letters (if you believe that your crazy, it coulda said "we release you from all contractual obligations", it didn't he knew that so he had to play dumb beyond belief.) Wyc stated on camera it was 100% started and pushed through by Doc to the point where it had to be done. A time line makes that Circus easier to follow though it will make you ill

On Jan 23 Danny says something that surprises the interviewers and anyone who has followed Danny. That info was not needed for the 95% of folks who don't know the CBA rules and expected a negotiation in Summer anywayz.

We learned that Rondo rejected it as he should....who needs to know this?

Rondo gives a terse interview demanding their sources..."who told you that?"..Danny did.  Jan 24

Danny next rebuts the build around a superstar design and gives insight to his team building strategy. Rondo is mentioned but doors again are left open.

"I've heard stories, guys getting called right at midnight. It's something that I haven't experienced. I may want to go through it. I haven't thought about it at all." Jan 31

This started with Danny who i love flapping his lips way too much and this posturing by Rondo is a direct result. He had said almost nothing prior to Jan 23.

You should brace yourself for Rondo being gone because Danny has been massaging you since the 23rd and he will not let other GM's determine Rondo's value.

Rondo is gone.

I mean, you may be right. We'll know in a year and a half. But I read the situation completely differently.

Danny states his support for retaining Rondo in no uncertain words, stating that extending Rondo is a priority, and that he's already offered an extension.

Rondo and his camp, knowing that this extension was a token offering, deflect it, and mentions of it.

Assuming all parties are actually playing politics here (100% true in Danny's case, he's a snake, but he's our snake and I wouldn't trade him for anyone...less probable in Rondo's case, a guy who is known for speaking his mind and never really caring what other people think), this serves a few purposes. For Danny, it counters the prevailing opinion that Rondo is available in a fire sale, hopefully driving up the asking price in potential trades, and it lets the fans know that Danny thinks highly of rondo, and let's Rondo know that fans know Danny thinks highly of Rondo. This serves a similar purpose to the 'midnight courtship' stories of FA rondo is referring to. For Rondo, he's letting Danny know that he's not coming cheap.

It is as you say, all posturing. There is a whole lotta time between now and Rondo actually even being offered a contract from another team. Sooooo much can happen in that time. Right now they're just digging their trenches.

If I recall we met in the thread talking about BBQ and smokers I think? I take you as a person with good manners and common sense. Some folks are saying they don't see it at all?? I don't know what to say cuz the noise got turned up from nothing to a lot in 6 days. We see this completely differently but I respect your view. It's interesting how folks can look at the same thing and see it so differently. I find it odd,to not just say what is not needed but to do it before the trade deadline and after an offer nobody seems to have thought would be accepted anyway. And now we know about it...in January....and now Rondo's view of the open market is clearer or he's posturing which makes me uncomfortable and Danny talking about teams over superstars and stuff I just can't get not because of what is being said as much as when those words are being said...and why?? I hope your right and I'm wrong.Danny is our snake and he's the best snake but he's hissing suddenly and I don't know why? If we got all this in July as the back story after the fact it would be different but the timing is odd.IMO

UPDATE
I just read your comment again and think we actually agree a bit. I am surprised at how fast the trench digging has commenced. 

[BballTim]

I did this topic when it really began publicly

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=69268.msg1610624#msg1610624

People see what they want to but I was surprised how few folks saw what seemed clear. Something very recently has changed and the discussing of a properly rejected offer made no sense. Zero. Than fan base is 90% unaware of the restrictions of the CBA and if Rondo and agent refused then they already knew. Why this went public was bizarre. Listen to the Radio Interview then watch Rondo's Interview asking "who" told them?

Then Danny explicitly talks about the way he hates the term superstar and how teams are built together and not around folks which is a lot of info for week 3 in January.

I'm surprised that anyone else is surprised.

this is exactly what I was saying, something changed recently in both Rondo's and Ainge's tone, something went wrong. There was no need for these public comments by both of them

I think people are really over dissecting these comments. I can see Rondo's agent telling him to be more diplomatic with his answers regarding his future. Afterall, Ainge has been publicly saying that they're not shopping Rondo but they're willing to listen to offers. I think Rondo is taking a similar approach, "I'd like to stay in Boston, but I'm open to the possibility of free agency."

I did a timeline for the folks claiming the Doc departure was Wyc's idea of saving money which started with the day we got eliminated and 3 days later a very spectacular trade being roundly ridiculed. 2nd interviews. Meeting, unopened letters (if you believe that your crazy, it coulda said "we release you from all contractual obligations", it didn't he knew that so he had to play dumb beyond belief.) Wyc stated on camera it was 100% started and pushed through by Doc to the point where it had to be done. A time line makes that Circus easier to follow though it will make you ill

On Jan 23 Danny says something that surprises the interviewers and anyone who has followed Danny. That info was not needed for the 95% of folks who don't know the CBA rules and expected a negotiation in Summer anywayz.

We learned that Rondo rejected it as he should....who needs to know this?

Rondo gives a terse interview demanding their sources..."who told you that?"..Danny did.  Jan 24

Danny next rebuts the build around a superstar design and gives insight to his team building strategy. Rondo is mentioned but doors again are left open.

"I've heard stories, guys getting called right at midnight. It's something that I haven't experienced. I may want to go through it. I haven't thought about it at all." Jan 31

This started with Danny who i love flapping his lips way too much and this posturing by Rondo is a direct result. He had said almost nothing prior to Jan 23.

You should brace yourself for Rondo being gone because Danny has been massaging you since the 23rd and he will not let other GM's determine Rondo's value.

Rondo is gone.

  I don't know why you think Danny claiming he's had discussions with Rondo about extending his contract is such a surprise to people. Maybe he was trying to assure people that Rondo was part of the team's future. Everything he's said about Rondo has been that they want to keep him on the team. While it's true that Danny would trade Rondo for the right offer we've heard a pretty steady stream of claims that Danny's not shopping Rondo and that it would take a very strong offer to interest him. None of this points to Rondo being gone.

 

Making fans feel secure isn't really Danny's MO. I'm not saying he's looking to move Rondo, but I also don't feel great that both of them are publicly discussing something that should be behind doors and not relevant for at least another year. The only reason I can think of for them to be talking about this is there are some rumblings.

I tend to think they are minor but I'd bet Rondo and his people weren't happy about Danny putting it out there that he turned down an extension. Why Danny did that I'm not sure.  Could gave been a slip... Could have been prep for a possible move... But i doubt it was to reassure fans if only because it did the opposite.

  Danny spends a lot of time shooting down false trade rumors and the like, I don't know why you'd think reassuring fans isn't his MO. Also, I'm not sure the average fan would take "we think Rondo's a great player and we want him to be part of the team going forward" to be the sure sign he's trying to trade Rondo that many people here take it to be, so it's probably more reassuring than you think.

[BballTim]

This season Kendall Marshall is averaging a double double in points and assists, per 36 minutes.

Over his actual minutes (33 per game),  Kendall Marshall is averaging almost a double double 10-9.5

Kendall Marshall has played in 18 games so far this year.


Is his sample size too small? Are his numbers unsustainable? Shouldn't both of those questions be applied to Rondo's eight games?


If you don't think so, does that mean we should resign ourselves to the fact that post-injury Rondo is going to be less effective then Kendall Marshall?

  I'd guess if you don't expect Rondo's play or his numbers to improve at all as he gets healthier and his teammates get more used to playing with him or if we put better shooters around him then, yes, we should resign ourselves to the fact that other players will be more effective than him. I would point out, however, that Rondo's in his 8th season so the sample size on his play is somewhat larger than 8 games. We'll be sure to mark you down in the "Rondo's current level of play is at an unsustainably high level" camp though.

[paidthecost2betheboss]

  I don't know why you think Danny claiming he's had discussions with Rondo about extending his contract is such a surprise to people. Maybe he was trying to assure people that Rondo was part of the team's future. Everything he's said about Rondo has been that they want to keep him on the team. While it's true that Danny would trade Rondo for the right offer we've heard a pretty steady stream of claims that Danny's not shopping Rondo and that it would take a very strong offer to interest him. None of this points to Rondo being gone.

Well because on November 18th he said..

“Rondo is coming off an injury and I think people know how much we love Rondo, so I don’t expect anybody to inquire, quite honestly,” Ainge said. “People know that Rondo is a big part of our future and that we’re not going to trade him.”
Ainge called Rondo, a four-time All-Star, “the centerpiece of our future.”

**me thinks after this but before Jan 23rd he made his offer.**

Morning of Jan 23

"I think that Rondo will demand quite a bit in the open market. The competition for Rondo in free agency will be very high."

Later on in another interview on the 23rd

“He’ll be paid a lot,” Ainge said. “He’s a four-time All-Star. He’s 27 years old. He’ll be paid a lot, is my expectation.”

Jan 24th

Make no mistake, the Celtics would like to keep Rondo, but Ainge doesn’t like the notion that the team must “build around” Rondo, or any one player for that matter.

“I don’t like saying that, whether it’s Paul Pierce or Kevin Garnett or Ray Allen,” Ainge said. “And those guys are multiple-time All-Stars. I just don’t like ‘building around’ something.

“Everybody knows who the best players are on teams, but I just think that gives the players the impression that they’re more important than everybody else on the team and the rookies on the team. I just don’t like how that creates a culture of individualism as opposed to the whole team.

“[Rondo is] obviously a very important part of our team and has been for years. Some people are going to continue to use [those terms] whether I like it or not. I’m just saying I don’t like to use that.

“I can’t ever be put in a situation where the sentiment of my relationship with the player prevents me from doing what’s best for the franchise. But that’s the extent of it.”


I read that to mean that the Celtics are trying to build a team not star and supporting cast. He said it plain as day. He also said repeatedly that Rondo will get a lot of money that He'll get a lot of money and that the competition for Rondo will be very high . I have heard Agents predict huge rewards and stiff competition on the open market for their clients but not from Danny. It is how you try to drive up value. The other GM's are not gonna pay more cuz Danny says he's so valuable and popular. He might be talking his way outta doing so since he never said they would be in that stiff market or that We'll be doing anything. He's speaking with open doors behind him. I caught this right away as it makes no sense to do this unless your trying to create a market. Again, agents do that not GM's. Now ..wow...surprise, after not talking about anything except the rest of his career with the Celts he's talking about the intrigue and possibilities of Free Agency.

You think one is not related to the other. I'll agree with Indeed Proceed seeing this as perhaps trench digging for a negotiation but if you see nothing but assuring...Rondo didn't appear assured on the day he heard from reporters what Danny said and he doesn't seemed assured talking about FA. I'm scared if Danny was trying to assure anyone except Boston fans that he's gonna try his best to do what's best for the team.

[ssspence]

The daily csblog Rondo thread......

"Rondo stinks."

"No he's great"

"Rondo stinks."

"No he's great"

"Rondo stinks."

"No he's great"

"Rondo stinks."

"No he's great"

"Rondo stinks."

"No he's great"

"Rondo stinks."

"No he's great"

don't you gentlemen ever get bored with this line of banter?

[GreenWarrior]

I didn't read every post. but correct me if i'm wrong, didn't ainge offer rondo an extension as recently as a couple weeks ago?

and didn't danny even admit that from a business sense on rondo's part it wouldn't have made sense for him to sign this deal. that they were offering him this deal as a gesture that he is in their plans for the future?

[PhoSita]

The daily csblog Rondo thread......

"Rondo stinks."

"No he's great"

"Rondo stinks."

"No he's great"

"Rondo stinks."

"No he's great"

"Rondo stinks."

"No he's great"

"Rondo stinks."

"No he's great"

"Rondo stinks."

"No he's great"

don't you gentlemen ever get bored with this line of banter?

around here, it's either that or


"tanking is good and necessary!"

"tanking is shameful and detrimental!"

"tanking is good and necessary!"

"tanking is shameful and detrimental!"

"tanking is good and necessary!"

"tanking is shameful and detrimental!"

"tanking is good and necessary!"

"tanking is shameful and detrimental!"

ad nauseum

[Jon]

Who can blame him?

1) He has a chance to maximize his value.

2) The real gist of the article really seemed like he just was talking about how it'd be fun to be wine and dined by organizations.  And who can blame him for wanting that?

3) Ultimately the ball will be in the Celtics' court in terms of the contract they can offer him or if they want to deal him before it comes to that. 

So really much ado about nothing.