A few points:
1. The Rondo hate is pretty nuts. He won us a lot of games. A simple, "I don't think he will come back" I can understand but some of these comments make me a little sad as a fan.
2. WAs he hurt this year in Dallas? I would like to know the full story of why he wasn't playing at the end.
3. Its all about money. I think if Ainge had said, "**** it, i'll just give him the max" he would still be here. Ainge was right not to. But if someone gets him for under 10 mil a year and he bounces back he will be on a good deal. I just have this bad feeling that next year or the year after he could again be a top pg and on a really friendly deal somewhere.
4. Its hard to say that our improvement after RR left was due to rondo sucking. I mean, we wee sucking as a team and when Rondo was traded it was kind of a rallying call for the rest of the team to step up. It reminds me of when Pitino left and we played better. Although I guess I'm making the opposite of the point I want because I really like Rondo and really don't like Pitino.
5. A lot of things would have to happen to make a Rondo return make sense. But I do hope Ainge reaches out to him. Even though he hasn't played amazing lately I still think he has a super competitive mentality and he's not someone I would ever bet against. He was getting like 13 dimes a game for us. Say what ever you want but almost no one else could do that.
on your first point, as i read this thread i dont see a unified, monolithic "hate" being leveled at rondo. i see lots of viewpoints, including appreciation for what he DID before as a celtic. let's not set up a strawfigure.
next point, maybe you could check back on the not playing in dallas stories on the web. it is complex story and no one here would know the full story. but from what i read, carlisle and rondo did not see eye to eye (quite the understatement.) rondo wants to run a team his way, which i can understand. but carlisle also wants to run a team, and do it his way as the coach. in this setting, rondo loses. rondo competed against his coach, and he lost since he is not a superstar.
plus, let's face it, rondo's stats and dallas' w/l record were not as good as before rondo's arrival. something was happening that was not good in the world of dallas basketball.
injury? i see no reason to doubt that was a factor. have you heard anything else on this? if so, please share it.
third point, you mention rondo might become a top pg next year. maybe. but NOT on any and all teams. a point made in this thread, and it is a good point, is that rondo's strengths and style do NOT PLAY OUT EQUALLY WELL ON ALL NBA TEAMS. rondo MUST have the ball in his hand to do well since he cant shoot reliably. such a player will not fit equally well on every nba team. simple enough.
for the CBS run celtics, rondo's style is NOT what is needed or appropriate. so i hope rondo bounces back. but it will have to be with a team whose offense and plays are not like those of the celtics. meaning, rondo cant bounce back with the celtics. this is the wrong place for his talents now. he was a good fit before with doc and the big 3, but a bad fit now.
point four, right. no one can prove the departure of rondo = more celtics wins. we can only make the observation that the celtics won more games after he left. to be honest, i thought the celtics passed the ball as a team far better without rondo. did this lead to wins? dont know. would the celtics have won more games if rondo had stayed? dont know that either. but we can all guess.
point five, here i disagree with you, though i acknowledge your point and intentions. rondo is not a good fit for this celtics team. ainge should not reach out to him. ainge should thank him and move on to build a different sort of team.
finally point, or question to you, by me. given that rondo plays one sort of basketball game as a ball dominant pg who doesnt shoot well, which teams today in the nba do you think would benefit from having him on board? those are the teams rondo should seek out to revive his career, which is honestly suffering right now.
/agree with all your points.
But I think the last one is the most important - everything else is just a sidebar. The real question is "can Rondo make this team better?". I think the answer to that is most likely no and that was shown by the dramatic increase in the winning percentage once he and Green were traded.
Rondo, even at his best, is a talent who requires a particular scenario to be effective. Simply put, he needs shooters. He needs guys like PP and Ray Allen who can pour in the points in half court sets. He needs vets like KG who can work off the pick and roll. He needs an enforcer in the paint like Perk who will give him the freedom and protection to drive to the hoop.
That is NOT this team. This Celtics crew is lacking in good outside half court shooting. There is no enforcer inside. There's not even a great pick-and-roll specialist. So even if Rondo wanted to come back, he doesn't fit anymore. It's quite likely he would be a negative asset to this team simply based on the system that the rest of the team needs to execute to succeed. That's the crux of the matter. Strictly from a basketball standpoint Rondo doesn't make any sense.
NOW add in the cost of his salary, the opportunity cost of not getting another player for that salary amount, the fact that our single best young asset plays the same position and the risk of similar locker room problems that transpired in Dallas. That's not hate, those are simply facts. In short, there's almost zero chance of a Rondo return being a net positive impact for the Celtics and a major chance of it having a negative impact in multiple ways.
