Woj on Rondo

[Granath]

Another Rondo article.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dallas-mavericks-went-rajon-rondo-142433245.html

(Ronald Martinez/Getty)Rajon Rondo played less than 10 minutes in Game 2 of the playoffs.The NBA world was always waiting for the playoffs to judge the Rajon Rondo trade.
Though the Dallas Mavericks' offense — the NBA's best before the trade — fell off after acquiring Rondo and their defense only got marginally better, it was Rondo's playoff experience and extra gear that was supposed to be the ultimate benefit.

Regular season evidence pointed to Rondo being a bad fit with the Mavs — he was the only Maverick to play over 1,000 regular season minutes and have a negative net rating. But his championship experience and ability to post triple-doubles with ease was supposed to be the factor that turned the Mavericks into a title contender.

Instead, the Mavericks are down 2-0 in their first-round series with the Houston Rockets, and the trade looks like a disaster.

Rondo played less than 10 minutes in Game 2. He played only 34 seconds in the second half before he was benched for backup point guards J.J. Barea and Raymond Felton, who only played 29 games this season.

In Rondo's 37 minutes in the playoffs, the Mavericks have been outscored by 36 points and are being outscored by 34 points per 100 possessions, according to the NBA's stats site.

Rondo looks completely out of sorts on the court. His inability to shoot clogs the Mavericks' spacing, and thus, their offense. Rondo has also had issues with Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, as the two got into an on-court spat in February over play-calling duties and then continued to fight in the locker room afterward. Rondo was suspended the next game.

In the first quarter of Tuesday night's loss to the Rockets, Rondo meandered up the court on offense, drawing an eight-second violation for not getting the ball across half-court. According to Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, there are some people who believe this was a deliberate protest of Carlisle calling plays from the sideline.

ESPN's Tim McMahon said Rondo didn't speak to reporters after Game 2, and when asked about Rondo's benching, Carlisle said, "All I know right now is that we need everybody at their competitive best."

Making matters worse for the Mavericks is what they gave up for Rondo. They lost starting point guard Jameer Nelson (who was a nice fit for the offense), backup wing Jae Crowder (who'd be the only Maverick capable of slowing down James Harden in the playoffs), backup center Brendan Wright, a 2015 first-round pick, and a 2016 second-round pick.

According to Wojnarowski, Rondo is all but gone from Dallas this summer when he becomes a free agent, especially if Carlisle is still the coach. That would be a steep price for the Mavericks to pay for half-a-season rental who arguably made the team worse.

The Mavs wouldn't necessarily be any better with their original team, but they could have used those assets to find a better fit at point guard, especially when so many were available at this year's trade deadline.

The Mavericks could still make this a series — they have two games at home and could have players returning from injury — but it doesn't seem like Rondo will be the player that helps. 

[Celtics4ever]

It still looks as if he is dragging the injured leg at times, the explosiveness that let him drive past people and zip to the ball is gone.  His skills other than passing were always suspect, like his shot.   He will either have to get one or he will be playing in China.

[Vermont Green]

This has been a very humbling experience for Rondo which so far, he is not dealing with very well.  I understand how this would be very hard for him.  I think he is healthy.  I think he still believes he can be "the man" on a good team but I don't think he can or ever could.

I hope Rondo finds a way through this.  I have always been critical of Rondo's shooting and ball pounding but he could make passes no one else could.  If he gets his head screwed on straight he should be able to find a productive role on a decent or even good team but he is going to have to come to the realization that he is the player he is and always has been.

Funny, he might end up in SAC after all.

[hpantazo]

Another Rondo article.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/dallas-mavericks-went-rajon-rondo-142433245.html

(Ronald Martinez/Getty)Rajon Rondo played less than 10 minutes in Game 2 of the playoffs.The NBA world was always waiting for the playoffs to judge the Rajon Rondo trade.
Though the Dallas Mavericks' offense — the NBA's best before the trade — fell off after acquiring Rondo and their defense only got marginally better, it was Rondo's playoff experience and extra gear that was supposed to be the ultimate benefit.

Regular season evidence pointed to Rondo being a bad fit with the Mavs — he was the only Maverick to play over 1,000 regular season minutes and have a negative net rating. But his championship experience and ability to post triple-doubles with ease was supposed to be the factor that turned the Mavericks into a title contender.

Instead, the Mavericks are down 2-0 in their first-round series with the Houston Rockets, and the trade looks like a disaster.

Rondo played less than 10 minutes in Game 2. He played only 34 seconds in the second half before he was benched for backup point guards J.J. Barea and Raymond Felton, who only played 29 games this season.

In Rondo's 37 minutes in the playoffs, the Mavericks have been outscored by 36 points and are being outscored by 34 points per 100 possessions, according to the NBA's stats site.

Rondo looks completely out of sorts on the court. His inability to shoot clogs the Mavericks' spacing, and thus, their offense. Rondo has also had issues with Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, as the two got into an on-court spat in February over play-calling duties and then continued to fight in the locker room afterward. Rondo was suspended the next game.

In the first quarter of Tuesday night's loss to the Rockets, Rondo meandered up the court on offense, drawing an eight-second violation for not getting the ball across half-court. According to Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, there are some people who believe this was a deliberate protest of Carlisle calling plays from the sideline.

ESPN's Tim McMahon said Rondo didn't speak to reporters after Game 2, and when asked about Rondo's benching, Carlisle said, "All I know right now is that we need everybody at their competitive best."

Making matters worse for the Mavericks is what they gave up for Rondo. They lost starting point guard Jameer Nelson (who was a nice fit for the offense), backup wing Jae Crowder (who'd be the only Maverick capable of slowing down James Harden in the playoffs), backup center Brendan Wright, a 2015 first-round pick, and a 2016 second-round pick.

According to Wojnarowski, Rondo is all but gone from Dallas this summer when he becomes a free agent, especially if Carlisle is still the coach. That would be a steep price for the Mavericks to pay for half-a-season rental who arguably made the team worse.

The Mavs wouldn't necessarily be any better with their original team, but they could have used those assets to find a better fit at point guard, especially when so many were available at this year's trade deadline.

The Mavericks could still make this a series — they have two games at home and could have players returning from injury — but it doesn't seem like Rondo will be the player that helps.

This quote is why Ainge come out lookin like a genius. A number of us including myself, questioned the timing of the Rondo trade and the return. It appears obvious now that Ainge predicted the market perfectly and realized that not only was Dallas the only team willing to give a decent return for what they hoped was playoff Rondo, but that a few weeks later lots of better point guards would be available like Dragic and IT. If we hadn't made the Rondo trade then, we would have gotten squat for him at the deadline and would likely have not had a chance at getting IT.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

my question is : Why would he want to play for the Lakers so badly? It seems obvious Kobe is very close to done, they just had a horrible season. there's minimal talent on the roster. and the pressure to win right away will still be huge.   On top of that, Rondo doesn't seem like a Hollywood kind of guy. His personality isnt exactly Magic Johnson or Shaq. He would strike me as being more comfortable in a more low profile city.
  Outside of being friends w Kobe, it's hard to see the appeal there, at least to me.

I agree. They'll have Old Kobe, a good but inexperienced draft pick, a coming-back-from-serious-injury-and-still-essentially-a-rookie Julius Randle, maybe a streaky Nick Young, and a bunch of D-Leaguers. And Rondo is SO not Hollywood.

[Vermont Green]

The silver lining in this for Celtics fans is that the Rondo hangover in Dallas may lead to a lottery pick for us.

[D Dub]

my question is : Why would he want to play for the Lakers so badly? It seems obvious Kobe is very close to done, they just had a horrible season. there's minimal talent on the roster. and the pressure to win right away will still be huge.   On top of that, Rondo doesn't seem like a Hollywood kind of guy. His personality isnt exactly Magic Johnson or Shaq. He would strike me as being more comfortable in a more low profile city.
  Outside of being friends w Kobe, it's hard to see the appeal there, at least to me.

I agree. They'll have Old Kobe, a good but inexperienced draft pick, a coming-back-from-serious-injury-and-still-essentially-a-rookie Julius Randle, maybe a streaky Nick Young, and a bunch of D-Leaguers. And Rondo is SO not Hollywood.

Socal is a great place to live in seclusion.  He probably visited KG in Malibu and now fancies the idea of vacationing from April-September there.

[Granath]

This quote is why Ainge come out lookin like a genius. A number of us including myself, questioned the timing of the Rondo trade and the return. It appears obvious now that Ainge predicted the market perfectly and realized that not only was Dallas the only team willing to give a decent return for what they hoped was playoff Rondo, but that a few weeks later lots of better point guards would be available like Dragic and IT. If we hadn't made the Rondo trade then, we would have gotten squat for him at the deadline and would likely have not had a chance at getting IT.

It's cool to admit that you questioned the trade. That's reasonable.

I remember supporting the trade for two reasons:
(1) Ainge is a master of getting the most out of trades, so if he felt that Dallas' offer was the best he could do, then it probably was;
(2) If we were going to move Rondo anyway, then the team needed to move on. It was better for Stevens and the team to develop a strategy and method of playing post-Rondo since he has such a major influence on the way a team plays.

I wondered about the fit in Dallas - it didn't seem like the type of system that would really benefit Rondo's talents - but I never envisioned that it would get this bad for him.

The silver lining in this for Celtics fans is that the Rondo hangover in Dallas may lead to a lottery pick for us.

It's looking more and more possible - hell, it almost happened this year - and wouldn't that be something if the Dallas pick ended up in the lottery? The outlook for Dallas the next few years doesn't look very good...

[blink]

Sadly, the idea of "Playoff Rondo" seems like eons ago now.

He summoned a lot of that energy in I think the second quarter of game 1.

The issue is he's no longer as lightning quick into the lane and also the team actively doesn't want him doing most of the stuff that "playoff Rondo" would thrive on.

They don't want him with the ball much, they don't want him crashing the offensive glass, and that Dallas team can't handle him roaming on defense creating havoc. Monta/Dirk have been awful this series and Rondo is going to absorb the blame and leave town.

Though his game 2 performance was absolutely galling, not sure what's going on with him at all other than he's checked out. I wonder if Carlise looked at the second quarter stint and basically made it clear don't do that again its out of my system. Because he was plenty engaged in game 1.

I agree 100% with this.  Rondo deserves the criticism for his play in game 2, but in game 1 he looked like a player that was helping his team get back in the game and was playing well.

When your best player is shooting 3-14, your next best player (parsons) is out with the knee injury there are a lot of reasons that the mavs are losing this series.

The whole fit with Rondo-Dallas just never made sense.  With Monta needing the ball in his hands to be effective, it has just been a bad fit from day 1.  But that said every team needs to use their players to maximize their talents and contributions.  I don't think that is happening in Dallas for Rondo.  Rondo's cantankerous attitude isn't helping with a more old-school style coach like Carlisle either.

Rondo is an easy target to pin all of the Mavs woes on.  As always, things are more complicated than that.

[snowball]

Dirk is going to be 37 years old in June.
Rondo will move on and be a success somewhere else.

[jpotter33]

I think Rondo going to LA would be in both his and our best interest. For Rondo, LA is probably the only place stupid enough to give him a larger contract like he's wanting. For us, LA is probably an even worse situation for him given his skill set and teammates, making LA terrible. If Rondo can't play with ball-dominant Monta Ellis, how the hell is he going to play with super-ball-dominant Kobe? The only reason Kobe has been relevant in the past two years is due to him taking a faux point guard position and handling/dishing the ball. How is that going to work with Rondo?

[SHAQATTACK]

I hope he goes to LA ......eats up a huge chuck of cap space as they over pay to have STAR names on the team .....all about TV .....big names ...even if he can't play like a star....

Nash contract helped kill the Lakers off ......Rondo will help too

Rondo .....is so exposed on the star studded Western conference already. He'll fall out of favor in LA in a few weeks .    They ll want his head

If he goes to LA....he ll be unhappy like Howard with the pressure to win every second , media will slay him...if he goofs off like he does so often .

Rondo should head to a nothing team.....like TWolfs or Magic where he can HiDE ......till he retires.

[Eddie20]

I'm not sure why anyone should feel sorry for Rondo. He was always an athletically dependent player who we waited for years to develop at the very least a respectable outside game, but that never happened. He never game consistent effort, as Pierce recently alluded to, and as a result our overall team play was erratic since the middle of the 2009-10 season. He also could've committed to us long term by signing an extension, but held out for more money and/or greener pastures (pun intended).

I'm sure years down the line Rondo will regret some of those decisions.

Rondo also had his legion of adoring fans here that were quick to give him a free pass. How many times did we hear "he's still not recovered from an ACL injury", "he's playing with inferior teammates", "Coach (insert name here) isn't using him correctly", or "wait until the playoffs" to excuse poor performances?

He was called a superstar and fans were irate over the lack of perceived value we received for a "player of his caliber". You can go back to that trade thread as a lot of fans wanted Ainge's head on a platter.
(good read in retrospect) http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=74828.0

Fast forward a few months, and suddenly Ainge doesn't seem so dumb, the trade doesn't seem so bad, Rondo doesn't seem so good, and his fans aren't defending him so feverishly.

[LarBrd33]

RIP "Playoff Rondo" Myth.  Lol

Again, if you give him 43 minutes a night and let him control the ball 95% of the time, he's still perfectly capable of putting up some "Playoff Rondo" inflated statistics. 

I think he'll play well wherever he lands, because wherever he lands will be an overpay situation... and a team isn't going to overpay Rondo without being prepared to give him the keys to the car.   He'll probably end up with the Lakers or Knicks... teams that have money to spend and fans to appease. 

I'm glad we got a late 1st for him.  It's just a shame we didn't cut ties with him earlier when he theoretically had more trade value.

[Atzar]

I hate to say this because I really liked him as a Celtic.  But I saw what Rondo did to the Celtics in his return.  He still has it.  Give him a reason to play - usually, an opportunity to stick it to somebody - and Rondo is great.  But right now, the greatest 'stick it' target he has is his own team, and he's doing a marvelous job. 

I believe he can still play.  He's just choosing not to right now.  I don't believe for a second that he's fallen this far.  Is he a good fit for the Mavs?  No.  Hell no.  But this isn't the case of a misfit (like Josh Smith in Detroit) or a player who just doesn't have it anymore (like, arguably, Dirk).  This is just somebody who hates his situation.

And I think a lot less of him for the way he's handling it.  This is really sad to see.