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

[BballTim]

Well who are you going to trade Rondo for?

Me?  I'd shop him this summer and trade him for the best offer I got.  I would rather not go into next season with that distraction.  I want to head forward without having the huge Rondo question mark hanging over the team.  Ideally, some team in the top 10 would offer their pick plus other useful players for Rondo.

  There isn't really a huge Rondo question mark, just a bunch of posters trying to invent one. If you're going to worry about him staying then you'll have similar concerns about any star that ends up here, and the rebuild's going to get pretty complicated if we don't want to risk having good players who's contracts will end sometime on the roster.

[PhoSita]

  There isn't really a huge Rondo question mark, just a bunch of posters trying to invent one.

Which part of this do you dispute:


a. For the majority of his career, Rondo has been on a winning team, and has demonstrated his competitive nature.

b. The Celtics are not a competitive team right now, and are still at least one major move, or else a few moderate moves, away from being competitive again.

c. Rondo is going to be a free agent after next season.

d. Rondo will be 29 years old when he enters free agency.  His next contract (likely 4 years) will take him through the remainder of his prime.

e. There will be teams with cap space and a desire to sign Rondo next summer that may be able to offer more in the way of established, experienced talent than what the Celtics have at that time.



If all of those things are true, why shouldn't Rondo's impending free agency be something that we take into consideration?  Do you really think that there isn't a significant chance that Rondo leaves in free agency?

[Smokeeye123]

We all saw what Simmons said about this last month:

Here?s the problem with trading Rondo ? he?s never re-signing in Sacramento, Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland or wherever. None of those teams are overpaying to rent Rondo for a year. Boston?s best chance on decent value: If Houston flames out in Round 1, maybe send Rondo there for Jeremy Lin?s expiring deal, Chandler Parsons and Houston?s first-rounder. I can?t see them doing better, especially with how Rondo has looked lately ? he?s been their best tanking asset down the stretch, hands down. Nobody else comes close. ****ty attitude, sloppy ballhandling, horrific defense, inexplicable decision-making, ugly shooting ? he?s doing it all. Down the stretch, it?s like he studied tape of the game Tony threw in Blue Chips, then said, ?I?m gonna throw in Brandon Jennings?s shot selection for good measure.? If we get the no. 1 pick, they should retire Rondo?s number next October.

I think he might actually resign in Detroit. His BFF JSmoove is there.

[pokeKingCurtis]

  There isn't really a huge Rondo question mark, just a bunch of posters trying to invent one.

Which part of this do you dispute:


a. For the majority of his career, Rondo has been on a winning team, and has demonstrated his competitive nature.

b. The Celtics are not a competitive team right now, and are still at least one major move, or else a few moderate moves, away from being competitive again.

c. Rondo is going to be a free agent after next season.

d. Rondo will be 29 years old when he enters free agency.  His next contract (likely 4 years) will take him through the remainder of his prime.

e. There will be teams with cap space and a desire to sign Rondo next summer that may be able to offer more in the way of established, experienced talent than what the Celtics have at that time.



If all of those things are true, why shouldn't Rondo's impending free agency be something that we take into consideration?  Do you really think that there isn't a significant chance that Rondo leaves in free agency?

There's a chance he leaves.

The likelihood is largely a matter of speculation.

There are possible factors suggesting he stays. The legitimacy of which is completely debatable. For example Ainge's intentions are up to interpretation.

There are possible counterbalancing factors that suggest Rondo may stay. The legitimacy of which is also completely debatable. Rondo's loyalty, for example. There is a case for it (he played with a snapped elbow), but you can also speculate otherwise.

[PhoSita]

There are possible counterbalancing factors that suggest Rondo may stay. The legitimacy of which is also completely debatable. Rondo's loyalty, for example. There is a case for it (he played with a snapped elbow), but you can also speculate otherwise.

It's all speculation, of course.  I find it amusing when that's used as a reason to shut down discussion around here, since all we ever do on these forums is speculate, most of the time.

The snapped elbow to me is an example of how fiercely competitive Rondo is.  I think he will be miserable on a losing team.  I don't expect him to have a ton of patience playing with a bunch of young guys who are still a few years away. 

I think recovering from his latest major injury will have Rondo feeling his mortality a bit, and more eager than ever to get back onto the big stage and get himself talked about among the best players in the league again.  I don't think that's likely to happen for him within the next couple of years if he sticks around on the Celtics. 

[oldtype]

Parsons, Asik, and their first round pick this year (to draft Shabazz Napier or whoever the best PG available is) would be a good start.

[BballTim]

  There isn't really a huge Rondo question mark, just a bunch of posters trying to invent one.

Which part of this do you dispute:


a. For the majority of his career, Rondo has been on a winning team, and has demonstrated his competitive nature.

b. The Celtics are not a competitive team right now, and are still at least one major move, or else a few moderate moves, away from being competitive again.

c. Rondo is going to be a free agent after next season.

d. Rondo will be 29 years old when he enters free agency.  His next contract (likely 4 years) will take him through the remainder of his prime.

e. There will be teams with cap space and a desire to sign Rondo next summer that may be able to offer more in the way of established, experienced talent than what the Celtics have at that time.



If all of those things are true, why shouldn't Rondo's impending free agency be something that we take into consideration?  Do you really think that there isn't a significant chance that Rondo leaves in free agency?

  He's talked multiple times about wanting to stay with the team and I'd assume he's well aware of everything you listed, wouldn't you? He's pretty much embraced his role as the leader of a rebuilding team. He went to a lot of games when he was rehabbing that he didn't want to, plenty of the players talk about how he mentors them, and he knew what the team was going to be like when he did that and when he talked about wanting to stay with the team even though they were rebuilding. Has anything drastically changed  since then? Do you think you've listed any points that he was unaware of a few months ago?

[LarBrd33]

if Ainge could get Parsons, Asik and Lin for Rondo and Wallace, he'd prob do it.

[obnoxiousmime]

if Ainge could get Parsons, Asik and Lin for Rondo and Wallace, he'd prob do it.

It would probably be Rondo and Green, right? Houston would have a mighty big hole at SF otherwise, and we'd have two guys who play the same position and deserve to start.

Also, Houston has no need for Wallace since they're contending now. The Celtics can better afford to eat his deal next season since this trade would initiate a longer rebuild.

[PhoSita]

  He's talked multiple times about wanting to stay with the team

He's also talked about wanting to enter unrestricted free agency for the first time.

When looking at players headed into free agency and wondering what they'll do, I tend to look at the situation they're in rather than putting too much stock in what they say to the media about how much they love the team and how it'd be nice to stick around etc.

[BballTim]

if Ainge could get Parsons, Asik and Lin for Rondo and Wallace, he'd prob do it.

  If he's not any smarter than that then we're in for a long rebuild.

[BballTim]

  He's talked multiple times about wanting to stay with the team

He's also talked about wanting to enter unrestricted free agency for the first time.

When looking at players headed into free agency and wondering what they'll do, I tend to look at the situation they're in rather than putting too much stock in what they say to the media about how much they love the team and how it'd be nice to stick around etc.

  I think it's fairly unusual for players like Rondo to switch teams out of the blue.

[PhoSita]

  He's talked multiple times about wanting to stay with the team

He's also talked about wanting to enter unrestricted free agency for the first time.

When looking at players headed into free agency and wondering what they'll do, I tend to look at the situation they're in rather than putting too much stock in what they say to the media about how much they love the team and how it'd be nice to stick around etc.

  I think it's fairly unusual for players like Rondo to switch teams out of the blue.

If Rondo left in free agency, how would that be out of the blue?  Unless things change for the Celtics in the next year, it'd be a case of an established player in the middle of his prime leaving a rebuilding team to go play on a team that's ready to compete (or a team in a bigger / flashier market, or both).

That's a fairly common occurrence in the NBA.

[pokeKingCurtis]

  He's talked multiple times about wanting to stay with the team

He's also talked about wanting to enter unrestricted free agency for the first time.

When looking at players headed into free agency and wondering what they'll do, I tend to look at the situation they're in rather than putting too much stock in what they say to the media about how much they love the team and how it'd be nice to stick around etc.

Obligatory original quote:
http://www.celticshub.com/2014/01/31/rajon-rondo-on-his-potential-free-agency-it-intrigues-me/

Reporter: Is free agency something that intrigues you?

Rondo: It is.

Reporter: Something you?ve thought about?

Rondo: I haven?t thought about it. I?ve just thought about getting my leg as strong as possible, continue to shake off the rust this year and come back even better next.

What about free agency intrigues you?

It?s kind of like, I would say, maybe college recruiting. I?m pretty sure a lot more goes into it in the NBA. A lot more money is spent. 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.

I've actually seen someone twist this quote into something along the lines of "well, look at that. Rondo actively approached the media to tell them he's hitting the FA. Clearly he doesn't give a rat's ass about the Celtics. No loyalty."


Edit: A url within a quote seems to screw up the quote. Might have found a bug.

Edit: Nope. It's a problem with the quotation marks. Seems the quotation marks (") copied from certain websites screw up when pasted on here.

[nickagneta]

Maybe I am in the minority, but I would think that allowing Rondo to reach free agency, if he isn't tied up this summer with an extension, might be a good thing.

If other free agents want to come here, that might be the perfect time to sell Rondo on the home town discount to coerce his salary lower to afford more high profile players. It might also be a perfect way to convince him his salary demands are too high as he waits to see what he could possibly get on the market and from whom. It also might be a great way to get another player in a sign and trade as most contenders, teams Rondo would want to go to, probably wouldn't have the space to sign him to a contract he wants. And there's the possibility that other players better than Rondo might all want to team in Boston and its the best way to clear cap space to afford as many players as possible.

I am a huge Rondo fan and do not think Ainge has been actively shopping Rondo for years or that Rondo has been available in a trade unless it is an overpay by the other team(See Chris Paul for Rondo). But I have no problem letting Rondo hit free agency. It might be the best thing overall for the Celtics team for that to happen. It truly keeps the most options open, something a great business man like Ainge tends to like.