The possibility that some pro-Rondo fans are younger

[TheFlex]

I'm 19 and was secretly pleased when Rondo left town.

I always thought the opposite, actually. I felt the older generation was turned off by the Draft and "rebuilding" after having suffered 1990s Celtic basketball (an era of putridity that I gladly missed).

You've done a terrible job of keeping your secret.

Lol, TP.

[puskas54_10]

Just a couple things. Star players likes to play with star players who they are respect.
KG come here because of Ray Allen and Pierce, not because of Ainge.
Ray Allen went to Miami because of Lebron, not because of Riley.
Lebron went home because of Kyrie Irving.
Love went to cavs bacause of Lebron, Irving.
GMs have far less impact enticing star players, then other star players.

[D.o.s.]

The implied notion that you'd have to be young to appreciate a good player is ridiculous, particularly if you've been a fan of the team long enough to see what they look like without any.

[obnoxiousmime]

 They may think that a HOF player like Garnett becomes available every couple years and that the Celtics would naturally have a great shot at him, when actually the opposite is true. All the assets in the world wouldn't have mattered if Ainge hadn't made a successful pitch to Garnett before the trade. It's totally unprecedented in the modern era for the Celtics to have convinced a star like that to come to Boston (remember that even though we had Pierce and Allen, the team sans Allen actually only won 24 games the season before. Rivers hadn't ever won anything and Ainge was an unproven GM who had presided over 4 mediocre seasons - Garnett was taking a humongous risk). It really speaks to Garnett's unique personality that he didn't just angle to go for the most obvious and safer destination like most players in that situation would.

You kind of lose me here. I don't think it took a unique personality for KG to realize he'd be joining up with a HOF in their prime still wing combo in Pierce and Allen, cold city or not.

I still think it took a leap of faith. If he wanted to, he could have easily forced a trade to Los Angeles which had just won a slew of titles, had a proven coach and organization, and of course had Kobe. There was something about Garnett's personality and competitiveness where he may have seen Boston as a unique challenge. And maybe I'm getting a little homer-ist here, but I think he was the type of player that had an appreciation of NBA history.

My memory of the time was it was hardly a slam dunk. Pierce was considered a star, but immaturity questions, years of losing, and a disappointing USA national team experience left him excluded from the top rung of NBA superstars. Ray Allen was coming off ankle injuries. Rondo and Perkins had promise but were still insanely young. Ainge and Rivers hadn't proven anything.

There's a reason why their one-season W-L turnaround broke some kind of record. It just doesn't happen often that a team that won 24 games (I realize Pierce missed a bunch of games that year, but they were still below .500 with him in the lineup) could suddenly add two top players. Usually stars won't sign or report to a team like that, but somehow Ainge, Rivers, and Pierce convinced them to spend their prime years in Boston. It would have been easier for Garnett to just have picked a few top teams he'd be willing to accept a trade to and force McHale's hand.

[vinnie]

I am far, far, far from young and I remain distressed that Rajon Rondo is no longer on this team. Just loved watching the guy play, warts and all, but understand why they had to trade him.

[kozlodoev]

And this matters... why?

[obnoxiousmime]

Just a couple things. Star players likes to play with star players who they are respect.
KG come here because of Ray Allen and Pierce, not because of Ainge.
Ray Allen went to Miami because of Lebron, not because of Riley.
Lebron went home because of Kyrie Irving.
Love went to cavs bacause of Lebron, Irving.
GMs have far less impact enticing star players, then other star players.

You're right that players are the most important factor but I think in certain situations the organization still matters. LeBron's free agency was timed along with the other stars from his class and he could have maneuvered his way to a number of teams with the other stars following. I really believe that Riley's "look at my rings" pitch was a factor since James had just been coming from a team with horrible management. Going back to Cleveland later, I think he was a more mature and confident player than he was 4 years before so the less-than-sterling reputation of the organization didn't matter as much. Obviously there were other factors too like protecting his brand and reputation. He had already won championships and going back to Cleveland was the best narrative for his career.

[Meadowlark_Scal]

Just a couple things. Star players likes to play with star players who they are respect.
KG come here because of Ray Allen and Pierce, not because of Ainge.
Ray Allen went to Miami because of Lebron, not because of Riley.
Lebron went home because of Kyrie Irving.
Love went to cavs bacause of Lebron, Irving.
GMs have far less impact enticing star players, then other star players.

TP..NICE post..!!!

[Jailan34]

I don't see how age has anything to do with it, I think personality has far more to do with it and that isn't restricted by age. I think a 19 year old can be just as pessimistic or optimistic has a 60 year old. What it came down to was opinion, which can be shaped by any number of things. We can all agree on a few things though, I hope, and that is that this deal wasn't fair value for Rondo the player.

Even in his down year he was worth more than what we got. It was, however, likely worth what the market was willing to pay for a half year rental of Rondo in a down year with no guarantee he would re-sign with them.

We are all still Celtic fans though, and I'm sure 95% of us will be right back here at the start of next season arguing over something else and that's why I love Celticsblog.

[Meadowlark_Scal]

Define young. I'm close to Simmons in age and I hate the trade. Reminds me of Ainge for Pickney and Klein.  I never liked it.

Tell 'em CHIEF...!!!

[tazzmaniac]

I'm 19 and was secretly pleased when Rondo left town.

I always thought the opposite, actually. I felt the older generation was turned off by the Draft and "rebuilding" after having suffered 1990s Celtic basketball (an era of putridity that I gladly missed).

I'm in that older generation and am definitely turned off by the rebuild.  Rondo is my favorite player and I hate the trade because of that but I could have understood it if we were in the loaded West or if we'd received a better return.   With the weakness in the East, I think we were one player away from being a contender (not a favorite).  Lebron/Love/Irving with the Cleveland brain trust isn't nearly as imposing as Lebron/Wade/Bosh with the Miami brain trust.  It is depressing to think that we got almost as much for letting Doc go to the Clips as we got for Rondo.  We already were loaded with picks.  One more late 1st rounder doesn't make much of a difference to the rebuild.  Even if it didn't work out, we probably could have gotten a similar deal for Rondo in a sign and trade.  So why not take the minimal risk of losing Rondo for nothing and make one last attempt to acquire another "star" during the trade season or free agency. 

[Rosco917]

I don't know about pro Rondo fans being younger...I have a friend that thought Rondo was just super and he was 60.

[freshinthehouse]

I can see where Obnoxious Mime is coming from.  I think there was a very vocal group of younger C's fans that didn't want to see Rondo moved because he was their favorite player.  I think individual players matter more to a fan when they are young. 

[piercetruth34]

I'm also older.  i'm still pro rondo and have nothing against him.  I think there are immature people regardless of age too.   People will come with whatever theories they can.  I agree younger people get more attached though.  I think adults that trash people like that are immature themselves.

It's still ok to like Rondo too anyways. That's maturity.

[Roy H.]

I'm not sure if I agree with that theory.

A lot of us children of the eighties have lived through a rebuild, and we know they suck.  A lot of us aren't anxious to see a rebuild.  If the central argument is that more mature fans recognize the necessity of them, isn't the counterargument that no "rebuild" in Celtics history has been particularly successful?  The only title we've won in the last 25+ years was due to the win now approach.

I can see some younger fans getting irrationally attached to Rondo, but I think plenty of older fans appreciated his game.  I mean, I personally think it's sad that there were so many "anti-Rondo" fans, meaning fans that actively seemed to root against him.  Even for those of us who noticed his flaws, I would hope that we could also see his amazing strengths.

Also, of course, even those fans who thought that it made sense to move Rondo don't necessarily have to like the return we got, which was somewhere between manure and garbage.