Rondo's game never evolved from Summer league.

[KG Living Legend]

 Sure Rondo got better at the skills he already had, but he never changed from the guy I first saw running around like a madman in his first Summer league stint. Some guys evolve some don't.
 Every year we would fantasize that Rajon would be able to shoot a three, or a fifteen footer, or a free throw. It never happened he could not add any other facet to his game.

 Oh well now we have three point guards who can hopefully do what Rondo could not. Improve drastically. I do like Stevens chances with three very different options.

[HomerSapien]

The free throw shooting was the one that always bothered me the most.  I find it hard to accept that a professional basketball player, especially one who isn't a 7 foot tall center, can find a way to make at least 65 - 70% of their free throws.

This is why 2 - 3 years ago I advocated for trading Rondo for Rubio.  Sure Rubio can't shoot either, but at least he doesn't have to be petrified to drive the lane and get fouled.

Oh well.  Rajon was a great player for the Celtics, and also one with a good deal of "what could have been" associated with him as well.  I wish him well in Sac. 

It is a good point you make though.  Some players continue to improve for many years into their professional careers whereas others are basically "what you see is what you get".  Let's hope we are drafting guys with that hunger to develop.

[D.o.s.]

I am curious to see how many players who entered the league as sub par free throw shooters were able to become "acceptable", or league average FT shooters.

[obnoxiousmime]

Yeah, I remember some people were using Kidd as an example of someone who didn't have a great shot early in his career but eventually improved to the point where you couldn't leave him alone. At this point it's evident Rondo will just always be an awkward shooter, and with his athleticism leaving him he no longer can drive and finish consistently. He also was never as good a FT shooter as Kidd which was a bad sign.

The way the league has gone it's just really hard to hide Rondo on offense now. The old Celtics teams surrounded Rondo with three great jump shooters in Pierce, Allen, and Garnett. Rondo will be lucky if he plays with three hall-of-famers in their prime again in his career.

[HomerSapien]

I am curious to see how many players who entered the league as sub par free throw shooters were able to become "acceptable", or league average FT shooters.

We'll get a bit of a case study this year with Smart.  He shot .646 FT% last season.  Incidentally, Rondo shot .647 FT% in his rookie year so he got worse as his career wore on.

[Rhyso]

Fun fact: Rondo shot 35% from 3 in Dallas

(Disclaimer: This post does not intended to start a Rajon Rondo shooting debate, simply a light hearted stat for readers pleasure)

[KG Living Legend]

I am curious to see how many players who entered the league as sub par free throw shooters were able to become "acceptable", or league average FT shooters.

We'll get a bit of a case study this year with Smart.  He shot .646 FT% last season.  Incidentally, Rondo shot .647 FT% in his rookie year so he got worse as his career wore on.

 I am not happy to see that at all. Smart was a career .751% FT shooter in college but was worse in year two. The good news is Smart shot only .295% 3pfg and only shot 1.5 attempts per game.

 With the Celts, he attempted 4.1 per game, and increased to .335% with a deeper shot. Not great but not bad.

[CelticsFanFromNYC]

I am curious to see how many players who entered the league as sub par free throw shooters were able to become "acceptable", or league average FT shooters.

Narrow that question to subpar shooting guards,  and you might have a debate

[D.o.s.]

I am curious to see how many players who entered the league as sub par free throw shooters were able to become "acceptable", or league average FT shooters.

Narrow that question to subpar shooting guards,  and you might have a debate

Pictured: a subpar shooting guard

[CelticsFanFromNYC]

I am curious to see how many players who entered the league as sub par free throw shooters were able to become "acceptable", or league average FT shooters.

Narrow that question to subpar shooting guards,  and you might have a debate

Pictured: a subpar shooting guard

Sorry met supar FT shooting guards which he shot 89%

[crimson_stallion]

Sure Rondo got better at the skills he already had, but he never changed from the guy I first saw running around like a madman in his first Summer league stint. Some guys evolve some don't.
 Every year we would fantasize that Rajon would be able to shoot a three, or a fifteen footer, or a free throw. It never happened he could not add any other facet to his game.

 Oh well now we have three point guards who can hopefully do what Rondo could not. Improve drastically. I do like Stevens chances with three very different options.

Rondo shot 39% from 10-16 feet and 40% from 16ft - 3PT over his career.

Those are pretty decent numbers, and about 25% of all his career FGA came from within those ranges. 

He's actually been a decent midrange shooter over his career, just never developed much of a three point shot.

[GC003332]

I am curious to see how many players who entered the league as sub par free throw shooters were able to become "acceptable", or league average FT shooters.

Chris Webber, Karl Malone ,Blake Griffin perhaps

[amenhotep04]

I am curious to see how many players who entered the league as sub par free throw shooters were able to become "acceptable", or league average FT shooters.

We'll get a bit of a case study this year with Smart.  He shot .646 FT% last season.  Incidentally, Rondo shot .647 FT% in his rookie year so he got worse as his career wore on.

 I am not happy to see that at all. Smart was a career .751% FT shooter in college but was worse in year two. The good news is Smart shot only .295% 3pfg and only shot 1.5 attempts per game.

 With the Celts, he attempted 4.1 per game, and increased to .335% with a deeper shot. Not great but not bad.

Actually, Smart shot 4.0 attempts per game from 3 point range his first year at OSU, and then 5.3 his second year.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/marcus-smart-1.html

[clover]

Sure Rondo got better at the skills he already had, but he never changed from the guy I first saw running around like a madman in his first Summer league stint. Some guys evolve some don't.
 Every year we would fantasize that Rajon would be able to shoot a three, or a fifteen footer, or a free throw. It never happened he could not add any other facet to his game.

 Oh well now we have three point guards who can hopefully do what Rondo could not. Improve drastically. I do like Stevens chances with three very different options.

Rondo shot 39% from 10-16 feet and 40% from 16ft - 3PT over his career.

Those are pretty decent numbers, and about 25% of all his career FGA came from within those ranges. 

He's actually been a decent midrange shooter over his career, just never developed much of a three point shot.

He's also been left wide open there for most of his career.

[Celtics4ever]

I do not think this is fair or true to a large degree.   I think Rondo's shot improved marginally over the years but a lot of his progress was halted by playing with three hall of famers who could carry a team.     It was their team all the way and Rondo was the fourth option.   He also benefited from this making an all-star game.

I thought he could compensate for his lack of shooting until the injury with his speed.   He could drive by folks and penetrate but once his injury happened he was never the same player.  Typical Ainge guy who has some talent but if flawed in some way.   Ainge loves to gamble that their strengths will overcome their flaws.   For a while, with Rondo he was right.