Really.. noone saw this? Hou to call on Rondo?

[D.o.s.]

big takeaway -- Morey uses parentheticals in conversation.

[Celtics18]

My biggest takeaway in all this is that it would make much more sense for the Rockets to trade Parsons, Asik, and Lin for Rondo than it would for the Celtics to make that trade. 

The proposal is a good illustration that contract issues invariably come up and have to be dealt with by NBA GMs trying to run their teams. 

This idea that the key reason to trade Rondo is the fact that he is up for a new contract soon makes less sense when one considers that this is always the case, no matter what player you are dealing with. 

If we could trade Rondo for a sure-fire superstar who is guaranteed to make less than $10 million per year for the rest of his career and stay a Celtic, sign me up.  I'm all in.  Unfortunately, that deal doesn't exist. 

The pro-trade Rondo contingent points out the risks of keeping Rondo.  I'm not claiming that those risks don't exist, but trying to re-build a contender is going to involve risk no matter what route Danny takes.

I'd rather roll the dice on the four time all-star that has helped lead the team to great playoff success than take my chances by getting rid of him in exchange for a player or players who might someday reach his status. 

Sure, hitching our hopes to Rondo is a gamble, but it seems to me like a safer gamble than any I've seen that involve cashing him in for an unknown future. 

[PhoSita]

This idea that the key reason to trade Rondo is the fact that he is up for a new contract soon makes less sense when one considers that this is always the case, no matter what player you are dealing with. 

I guess. 

But if you trade Rondo for a productive player on a rookie contract and a draft pick, that's two players under the Celtics' control for the duration of the rookie contracts, plus the duration of the following contracts, assuming the Celtics match any offers in restricted free agency.

I'd rather roll the dice on the four time all-star that has helped lead the team to great playoff success than take my chances by getting rid of him in exchange for a player or players who might someday reach his status. 

I think that's a reasonable position to take.

You're also rolling the dice that the team can take advantage of Rondo during the remainder of his prime, though.  I think that's far from a given, even if a lot of things go right.

[LooseCannon]

This idea that the key reason to trade Rondo is the fact that he is up for a new contract soon makes less sense when one considers that this is always the case, no matter what player you are dealing with. 

I guess. 

But if you trade Rondo for a productive player on a rookie contract and a draft pick, that's two players under the Celtics' control for the duration of the rookie contracts, plus the duration of the following contracts, assuming the Celtics match any offers in restricted free agency.

But trading a star so that you can build a roster full of merely productive players is how you end up being a guaranteed long-term mediocrity.

[PhoSita]

But trading a star so that you can build a roster full of merely productive players is how you end up being a guaranteed long-term mediocrity.

Absolutely.  But you're setting up a false dichotomy here.

It's "maybe keep Rondo" (probably not keep Rondo, from where I'm sitting) in one hand, and "guaranteed to have at least a couple productive players for a while" in the other hand. 

Added bonus -- one or both of the players in the other hand could foreseeably end up being better than Rondo, if the trade package is truly good and Ainge makes a good pick.

[CoachBo]

But trading a star so that you can build a roster full of merely productive players is how you end up being a guaranteed long-term mediocrity.

Absolutely.  But you're setting up a false dichotomy here.

It's "maybe keep Rondo" (probably not keep Rondo, from where I'm sitting) in one hand, and "guaranteed to have at least a couple productive players for a while" in the other hand. 

Added bonus -- one or both of the players in the other hand could foreseeably end up being better than Rondo, if the trade package is truly good and Ainge makes a good pick.

And all of the "don't trade" scenarios are based on the pre-injury Rondo, which we most assuredly have not seen post-injury.

And they're based on the noble, if not humorous, assumption that Rondo loves Boston and the Celtics so much he's just not going to be interested in free agency - again a conclusion that is in no way supported by hard evidence.

Sometimes you have to make the best deal you can, recognizing the significant limitations of what you're trading. There's an awful lot of fans thinking with their hearts, rather than their heads, on the subject of Rajon Rondo.

Ainge, fortunately, gets paid to think with his head. If he thinks with his heart, he could set this franchise back for years.

[Celtics18]

This idea that the key reason to trade Rondo is the fact that he is up for a new contract soon makes less sense when one considers that this is always the case, no matter what player you are dealing with. 

I guess. 

But if you trade Rondo for a productive player on a rookie contract and a draft pick, that's two players under the Celtics' control for the duration of the rookie contracts, plus the duration of the following contracts, assuming the Celtics match any offers in restricted free agency.

I'd rather roll the dice on the four time all-star that has helped lead the team to great playoff success than take my chances by getting rid of him in exchange for a player or players who might someday reach his status. 

I think that's a reasonable position to take.

You're also rolling the dice that the team can take advantage of Rondo during the remainder of his prime, though.  I think that's far from a given, even if a lot of things go right.

I'm not claiming that anything is a given.  That's the whole point here.  It's about which gambles and risks we, and more importantly Danny, see as more likely to pay off in the long run.

[D.o.s.]

Honestly I'm much more interested in what the CB think tank says about Rondo & trading him than what Ainge says -- Ainge is bound by real world consequence, whereas we can take these things much further.

[PhoSita]

I'm not claiming that anything is a given.  That's the whole point here.  It's about which gambles and risks we, and more importantly Danny, see as more likely to pay off in the long run.

Definitely.  We agree on that.  As is typical with you and I, we have different preferred strategies for which risks to take.

Honestly I'm much more interested in what the CB think tank says about Rondo & trading him than what Ainge says -- Ainge is bound by real world consequence, whereas we can take these things much further.

I'm terribly interested in what Ainge really thinks, but you can't put much stock in what he says.

[nickagneta]

There's an awful lot of fans thinking with their hearts, rather than their heads, on the subject of Rajon Rondo.

This works both ways. For the people who believe we should keep Rondo and for the people who believe we should trade Rondo.

And as long as we are talking about hard evidence, there's absolutely zero hard evidence that Rondo is being shopped or that Ainge has any desire to part with Rondo unless it brings in an established star that is better than Rondo.

Me, I have no problem trading anyone on this team, as long as its the right trade. Trading old guys on their last legs for draft picks with an uncertainty of where those picks will be......good trade.

Trading mediocre players for other mediocre players on shorter contracts to open financial flexibility.......good trade.

Trading an established star that is still rehabbing an injury for productive players on rookie contracts and mid to low first round picks.....bad trade. Chance is better Rondo returns to health and becomes the player he was, given the nature of medicine now,  than the chance that that productive player or that mid to low first round pick becomes anything more than mediocre, at least in my eyes.

Loads of players have had acls, pcls, mcls done and come back at the same level. The time frame for a return to their normal game varies. Chances are pretty dang good the Rondo we know and love will return. I would be more worried about Rondo mentally checking out on a losing team than Rondo not rehabbing and returning to past form physically. Because I'll tell you what, a lot of the bad Rondo I saw, especially towards the end of this year, sure seemed to stem from a lack of effort on a losing team than because he couldn't do what he used to do.

[PhoSita]

I would be more worried about Rondo mentally checking out on a losing team than Rondo not rehabbing and returning to past form physically. Because I'll tell you what, a lot of the bad Rondo I saw, especially towards the end of this year, sure seemed to stem from a lack of effort on a losing team than because he couldn't do what he used to do.

Yeah.  This was my impression too. 

And I mean, hey, the team will probably be better next season.  Or at the very least the roster will make some more sense.  I think there will be more reason for Rondo to be engaged.  So maybe he'll really show how much of a leader of a young team he can be.  I guess we'll see.

[LarBrd33]

Its simply due diligence. Most if not every GM is probably and has probably called on Rondo at one point in time or another over the last 4 years. My guess is the calls go something like this:

Danny: Hello

Other GM: Het Danny! Its _______________

Danny: Oh hey, what's up?

Other GM: Is Rondo available.

Danny: Depends. Are you offering me just one player that is better than Rondo? Yes

Other GM: No. I just have a couple guys who's salary matches Rondo's. What do you want

Danny: How about Lin + Asik's expiring and Parsons for Rondo and Green.

Other GM: Okay.  I'll think about it.

Fixed

5 years later and still calling for a Rondo trade and think Ainge is actually shopping him, huh LB? How many deadlines have to pass with Rondo on this team and how many seasons have to start with Rondo on this team before it sinks in that your idea that Ainge is constantly shopping Rondo is a fantasy?

No way Ainge makes that trade you just "fixed" my post with. None whatsoever.

Definitely not a fantasy.  Rondo has been available for years.  Nobody has been willing to give up anything for him, though.  Ainge wouldn't have just traded him for the sake of trading him.

I don't think he'll be traded this offseason.  Doubt anyone will offer anything worthwhile.  I think we'll keep him until he's a free agent.

  Obviously a fantasy. Everything in your post is pure speculation, and the fact that your predictions about Rondo being on his way out the door have been wrong time after time doesn't help bolster your claim either.

ouch

The only time I thought he had a really good chance of being "out the door" was during this trade deadline, because Ainge was so very clearly tanking and theoretically Rondo was good enough to play us out of a Top 5 pick.

Turns out, we had a 16 win pace with Rondo running the team.  There was no need to trade him.  Ainge made a wise decision keeping him.  Fact is, I overrated the impact Rondo could make.  It's the homer in me.

Couple things... early this season, a massive chunk of sports media was pretty convinced Rondo was going to be traded.  Ya'll remember Simmons and Rose saying it was inevitable.   Those people haven't stopped, though.  The thought process is that Ainge could get more this summer.  It's not over yet.   But I personally felt that if Rondo was to be traded, it would have been at the deadline for tanking purposes.  At this point, we might as well just hang onto him.    It's the best of both worlds... we kept our fringe star and still bottomed out for a Top 5-6 pick.

[csfansince60s]

Not that this means absolutely anything, but...

However, Morey does not anticipate a major move that could include Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin.

?I don?t expect something bigger like that to happen," Morey said when asked whether the Rockets need to involve Asik and Lin in offseason moves. "I could see where you would look to that if something bigger were to happen, but I don?t anticipate that.

?We?re always aggressive. We?ll always explore aggressive scenarios. But I feel confident if those don?t emerge, we?re not far off. We need to get (the record) into the high 50s if we?re going to be as good as we want to be. We need to improve our defense primarily. We were the youngest team in the league (in the post-season, fourth youngest and second least experienced in the regular season) and improving so an addition or two that are key, I feel confident we can make that step forward that we need to make."

Morey believes the Rockets must elevate their win total to the upper 50s and receive internal development.

?I would always take a third All-Star guy either from one of our guys improving or addition," Morey said. "There?s no negative to adding an All-Star level player. That said, I don?t feel it?s necessary. I do feel it?s my job to explore those things. I think our group playing more together after only a season together plus a lot of young players that can take a step forward and improve, plus we?ve got financial flexibility this year. We?re not limited to minimum player additions."

Via Jonathan Feigen/Houston Chronicle

Methinks thou dost protest too much, Mr. Morey.

[LilRip]

just thought i'd throw this out there. For reference's sake, Kevin Garnett was traded for Big Al, Theo Ratliff's expiring contract, 2 first round picks and poor-mid tier prospects such as Gerald Green, Telfair, and Gomes. Also, at the time, many C's fans were clamoring about how we gave up too much for KG - though I thought that it was a more-or-less fair deal.

Now, let's transpose that to today's topic. Personally, i don't think Rondo is (or ever will be) at the level of '07 KG. To be fair, Parsons isn't also quite the prospect that Big Al was back then. Rondo for Parsons would be an extremely lopsided deal, but i think enough sweeteners can be thrown in from Houston's side to make it palatable (e.g. immediate salary cap relief, additional mid-tier prospects and future 1st round picks).

[csfansince60s]

Some folk here are balking at Lin/Asik/Parsons for Rondo/Green. I get the reluctance there.

But would anyone who balks at that proposal do Lin/Asik/Parsons for Rondo/Wallace?

Would Houston do it?

They couldn't get Melo then, but would have Rondo/Harden/Howard.