Should the Boston Celtics retire #9 in to the rafters for Rajon Rondo?

[kozlodoev]

Are we seriously talking about this?

[hwangjini_1]

I dont care if we "have too many numbers" retired.

Why is that even an argument? No body cares about that.

We honor our players that helped us win CHAMPIONSHIPS. And we have a lot of them, so that's a good thing.

You guys realize we could very easily go another 20+ years with no championship?  And you want to sit on your hands with Rondo because "we have to many numbers!" As if that even matters at all.

Who looks at the Celtics rafters and thinks "Well those numebrs being retired means nothing, look at how many there are!"

No one.

Everyone who looks in the rafters sees the history of all the greats that played for this team that helped us win CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Rondo is apart of that group,  without question.

I DARE management to give another player Rondo's number.

You honestly think someone else is going to wear number 9??

Honestly??

on another player wearing #9, why wouldn't they? after antoine left boston others wore his number and they did not seem to experience substantial angst. specifically:

Al Jefferson (2005)
Stephon Marbury (2009)
Marquis Daniels (2011)
Jeff Green (2011-2015)

cedric maxwell had two numbers while a celtic, and both numbers were used by other players after cornbread left the celtics.

if another player comes in, or perhaps a newly drafted rookie, and wants #9 i am sure he will get the number.

here is an interesting link to uniform numbers for the celtics, by the way:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/numbers.html

[Sixth Man]

Are we seriously talking about this?

Why not?  I mean, we've pretty much retired every other number, so much that we barely have any left available for current players...

[Rosco917]

No way on Rondo, not here long enough, and too much a polarizing player.

No on KG. Not here long enough, although a very popular player and leader.

Yes most definitely on Paul. He was a true Celtic in good and bad times, one of the clutch players in Celtic history.

[GreenFaith1819]

I dont care if we "have too many numbers" retired.

Why is that even an argument? No body cares about that.

We honor our players that helped us win CHAMPIONSHIPS. And we have a lot of them, so that's a good thing.

You guys realize we could very easily go another 20+ years with no championship?  And you want to sit on your hands with Rondo because "we have to many numbers!" As if that even matters at all.

Who looks at the Celtics rafters and thinks "Well those numebrs being retired means nothing, look at how many there are!"

No one.

Everyone who looks in the rafters sees the history of all the greats that played for this team that helped us win CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Rondo is apart of that group,  without question.

I DARE management to give another player Rondo's number.

You honestly think someone else is going to wear number 9??

Honestly??

I hit the "giveth" button on this post.

Spot on.

This post harkens back to the days of Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, Hondo, Couse, etc.

Red took care of his players, and as the patriarch of a winning franchise (and STILL the winningest NBA franchise in the League) he made SURE that as many players as possible had their jerseys placed in the rafters.

The Boston Celtics are about TRADITION. That's why we have SO MANY BANNERS in the rafters, and SO MANY JERSEYS.

Those who comment on "too many jerseys" in the rafters should perhaps do more research on the organization and the foundation that Red Auerbach built. That same foundation begat Bill Russell and led to our success.

It stands to this day and will stand forever.

Thank you, Red. Thank you, Bill.

[SmoothTsunami]

No way.  He only occasionally busted his ass elbow trying.

Fixed that for ya.

In all seriousness, while Rondo is my favorite player I'd have to say no to retiring his number. The comparisons to KG are interesting, but there are several things that make KG's number retirement an almost certainty, and Rondo's pretty much not:

1) KG bought in to what it was to be a Celtic from the moment he got here. He embraced the tradition and what it meant to be a Celtic, and we loved him more for that. Rondo never chose us, since we drafted him (in effect), and while he embodied the grit and toughness Boston sports fans come to expect from their stars, playing through injury without complaint, excuses or wheelchairs, he didn't give up anything to become a Celtic, it just fit him well.

2) KG developed close relationships with Celtic legends. The Bill Russell conversation is powerful, and you can't help but believe there is a deep bond there, and it really ties him to the organization. Rondo mostly got lectures from Tommy, though I think if Larry were here instead of Danny, that may have changed a bit.

3) Coming to Boston, we helped KG do something he couldn't have done otherwise. Yes, he could go to a contender next year and win, but that would be more of a coattails championship rather than something he earned. Here, we helped put him in a position to earn it, and he did. While Rondo won a championship, too, he could very well go on to be as successful elsewhere for as long or longer.

KG and Rondo had very complementary careers in Boston, even down to their cap hits, as Rondo became a star as KG's waned. KG gets more credit for his time here because his teams won. If we won in 11-12, or even 09-10, rather than 07-08 I think Rondo gets more appreciation, as he took on more of the leadership and playmaking as he grew up. I also don't think one chose to leave the C's more than the other; Rondo probably would have left in the summer if Danny didn't pull off something miraculous again, and KG did waive his no trade clause to go to a supposed contender with PP. Neither of these were their first choices, but they did both leave, with an unknown but I'm guessing about the same amount of volition.

Ultimately while I wouldn't be upset or surprised if KG didn't get his number retired I do expect it to be, while Rondo, if he has the logical continuation of his career, shouldn't have his retired (unless we're still in the dumps 10 years from now and need something to make us feel better, of course).

[Sixth Man]

I dont care if we "have too many numbers" retired.

Why is that even an argument? No body cares about that.

We honor our players that helped us win CHAMPIONSHIPS. And we have a lot of them, so that's a good thing.

You guys realize we could very easily go another 20+ years with no championship?  And you want to sit on your hands with Rondo because "we have to many numbers!" As if that even matters at all.

Who looks at the Celtics rafters and thinks "Well those numebrs being retired means nothing, look at how many there are!"

No one.

Everyone who looks in the rafters sees the history of all the greats that played for this team that helped us win CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Rondo is apart of that group,  without question.

I DARE management to give another player Rondo's number.

You honestly think someone else is going to wear number 9??

Honestly??

I hit the "giveth" button on this post.

Spot on.

This post harkens back to the days of Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, Hondo, Couse, etc.

Red took care of his players, and as the matriarch of a winning franchise (and STILL the winningest NBA franchise in the League) he made SURE that as many players as possible had their jerseys placed in the rafters.

The Boston Celtics are about TRADITION. That's why we have SO MANY BANNERS in the rafters, and SO MANY JERSEYS.

Those who comment on "too many jerseys" in the rafters should perhaps do more research on the organization and the foundation that Red Auerbach built. That same foundation begat Bill Russell and led to our success.

It stands to this day and will stand forever.

Thank you, Red. Thank you, Bill.

'Matriarch' you wrote...really?  Do you know something that the rest of us don't?! 

[GreenFaith1819]

I dont care if we "have too many numbers" retired.

Why is that even an argument? No body cares about that.

We honor our players that helped us win CHAMPIONSHIPS. And we have a lot of them, so that's a good thing.

You guys realize we could very easily go another 20+ years with no championship?  And you want to sit on your hands with Rondo because "we have to many numbers!" As if that even matters at all.

Who looks at the Celtics rafters and thinks "Well those numebrs being retired means nothing, look at how many there are!"

No one.

Everyone who looks in the rafters sees the history of all the greats that played for this team that helped us win CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Rondo is apart of that group,  without question.

I DARE management to give another player Rondo's number.

You honestly think someone else is going to wear number 9??

Honestly??

I hit the "giveth" button on this post.

Spot on.

This post harkens back to the days of Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, Hondo, Couse, etc.

Red took care of his players, and as the matriarch of a winning franchise (and STILL the winningest NBA franchise in the League) he made SURE that as many players as possible had their jerseys placed in the rafters.

The Boston Celtics are about TRADITION. That's why we have SO MANY BANNERS in the rafters, and SO MANY JERSEYS.

Those who comment on "too many jerseys" in the rafters should perhaps do more research on the organization and the foundation that Red Auerbach built. That same foundation begat Bill Russell and led to our success.

It stands to this day and will stand forever.

Thank you, Red. Thank you, Bill.

'Matriarch' you wrote...really?  Do you know something that the rest of us don't?! 

LOL, TP.

Edited my original post.

This proves to me that people read my stuff, haha.

[bknova]

Paul's a no brainer.
Yes to KG, he not only brought back the Celtic mystique, but he actually epitomized what it means to be a Celtic.
Gonna have to say No on Rondo.  And if he ever puts on a Laker uniform, absolutely not.

[LooseCannon]

This is the problem with the Celtics and retired numbers. People want to retire everyone's number who was ever a good player on our team. Rondo is not even close to being worthy of a retired number. And to be quite honest, a lot of the Celtics retired numbers need to be unretired.

This is part of what makes the Celtics the Celtics.  Quit trying to make the Celtics more like the Lakers.

[Roy H.]

8+ seasons here, 4 all-star appearances, 1 title, 1 Finals loss, 1-time All-NBA (3rd team), 4-time All Defense

For most teams, that's not enough to get your jersey retired.  With the precedent established previously by the organization, though, he's probably at least as important a Celtic as some of the guys who were previously retired.

I'd like to see the team go to a 2-tiered process for honoring players.  You can honor some of the greats by putting there number in a "ring of honor", but letting those numbers be used again.  That would be for guys like Rondo, Maxwell, Ainge, etc.  (although it would be a bit tacky to do this retroactively).  Then, the true greats of the franchise (Russell, Bird, Havlicek, Cousy, etc.) would have their number retired from further use, as well.

[Sixth Man]

I dont care if we "have too many numbers" retired.

Why is that even an argument? No body cares about that.

We honor our players that helped us win CHAMPIONSHIPS. And we have a lot of them, so that's a good thing.

You guys realize we could very easily go another 20+ years with no championship?  And you want to sit on your hands with Rondo because "we have to many numbers!" As if that even matters at all.

Who looks at the Celtics rafters and thinks "Well those numebrs being retired means nothing, look at how many there are!"

No one.

Everyone who looks in the rafters sees the history of all the greats that played for this team that helped us win CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Rondo is apart of that group,  without question.

I DARE management to give another player Rondo's number.

You honestly think someone else is going to wear number 9??

Honestly??

I hit the "giveth" button on this post.

Spot on.

This post harkens back to the days of Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, Hondo, Couse, etc.

Red took care of his players, and as the matriarch of a winning franchise (and STILL the winningest NBA franchise in the League) he made SURE that as many players as possible had their jerseys placed in the rafters.

The Boston Celtics are about TRADITION. That's why we have SO MANY BANNERS in the rafters, and SO MANY JERSEYS.

Those who comment on "too many jerseys" in the rafters should perhaps do more research on the organization and the foundation that Red Auerbach built. That same foundation begat Bill Russell and led to our success.

It stands to this day and will stand forever.

Thank you, Red. Thank you, Bill.

'Matriarch' you wrote...really?  Do you know something that the rest of us don't?! 

LOL, TP.

Edited my original post.

This proves to me that people read my stuff, haha.

Of course I read your stuff.  Too bad most of it doesn't make any sense...  
Seriously, though, I like this post, or any post that glorifies Red and Russ.  Here's
a thought - who would look more enticing flouncing around in a woman's nightie,
Red or J. Edgar Hoover...

[Greenback]

Not only No - but Hell No.

[EJPLAYA]

So you think that you should retire a guys number who was just a supporting player that championship season and who just came out and admitted he hasn't played defense in a couple of years?! That he lost interest (meaning he didn't give his full effort) once we traded KG and PP away?!

Sorry. He has no business having his number retired. Very solid player, but look what we were willing to give him away for instead of having to pay him max money.

[GreenGoggles]

8+ seasons here, 4 all-star appearances, 1 title, 1 Finals loss, 1-time All-NBA (3rd team), 4-time All Defense

For most teams, that's not enough to get your jersey retired.  With the precedent established previously by the organization, though, he's probably at least as important a Celtic as some of the guys who were previously retired.

I'd like to see the team go to a 2-tiered process for honoring players.  You can honor some of the greats by putting there number in a "ring of honor", but letting those numbers be used again.  That would be for guys like Rondo, Maxwell, Ainge, etc.  (although it would be a bit tacky to do this retroactively).  Then, the true greats of the franchise (Russell, Bird, Havlicek, Cousy, etc.) would have their number retired from further use, as well.

Which tier is Pierce in? I put him with the all timers.