With all the recent Celtics talk recently the most troubling to this Blog is the thought of trading Rondo. Only caveat to that would be a trade for Deron Williams with 90% chance of him resigning then getting 65+% chance of getting Dwight 'Super Man' Howard as a free agent. The odds of those things happening are close to 0% so trading Rondo, a relatively cheap triple double every night threat, seems foolish.
Remember Paul Pierce throwing a nutty in the 2005 playoffs by taking off and tossing his jersey after a questionable call? That was Pierce's 7th year in the league and he was 27 years old. Rondo's recent throwing a ball at the ref happened in a regular season game, it's his 6th year in the league, and he just turned 26. Pierce had some similar maturity, moody, not getting along with teammates issues when he was young and look at him now, a sure Hall of Famer and top 5 scorer in Celtics history. On both WEEI and The Sports Hub callers and hosts alike are leaning on the 'Rondo can't carry a team to the Finals' argument. Could Paul Pierce? Sure, Paul won the Finals MVP in 2008 over the Lakers but everyone knows Kevin Garnett was the heart and soul of that team. One could argue Paul was still immature at that point considering his carry off the court injury then miraculous come back to the court antics in Game 1 of those Finals. Hey, this Blog loves The Truth, but he couldn't carry his team to the Finals as the central piece either.
How does Rondo compare career and this season-wise to other top pointguards?
Rondo
Career 10.9 ppg, 7.7 apg, 4.4 rpg, 1.9 spg
This year 14.2 ppg, 9.6 apg, 5.0 rpg, 1.5 spg
Derek Rose
Career 21.0 ppg, 6.8 apg, 3.9 rpg, .9 spg
This year 22.4 ppg, 7.6 apg, 3.3 rpg, .9 spg
Deron Williams
Career 17.5 ppg, 9.1 apg, 3.3 rpg, 1.1 spg
This Year 21.9 ppg, 8.3 apg, 3.5 rpg, 1.1 spg
Sure, Rondo doesn't score as much, but even with the motley crew that's healthy at any one time on this year's Celtics he's increasing his assists and filling some of the rebound void even more than usual. Williams is clearly a notch above Rondo but Derek Rose, last year's regular season MVP, looks up at Rondo in all but one stat, Points Per Game. Is Rondo perfect? No, he shoots poorly both from the floor and the line, but still gets it done in all other areas. Need a big rebound? Need an open shot? Need a defensive stop? Rondo can take care of all that. Rondo is incredibly valuable, the most valuable of all the Celtics for the foreseeable future. He's the one that makes the other players look better than they are. So what if he doesn't score as much. Trade any or all of the aging big three, but please Celtics do not take anything less than Deron Williams for Rondo.
Until next time,
The SAHD
I get what you're saying and agree, Rondo is probably the best cornerstone that the Celtics can build around. However, we should look at the harsh reality: Pierce, Allen and Garnett are all on their last year or at maximum two (ok, maybe Pierce for 3 yrs but he would have a Larry Bird circa '91 year in 2014-5) while Rondo is either at his peak or very damn near close to it.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, if you have a stock that can't really go higher, you get the most you can. If the Celtics can pick up a solid forward and/or center and perhaps a decent non-protected draft pick in exchange for Rondo, I'd do it in a minute. Of course the question is, who are these players and who is the team? I don't know the answer to that but if the players coming back are decent and the pick would be a mid-level or even lottery pick, I'd pull the trigger.
Also, if the Celtics go .500 for the rest of the year, they make the playoffs. They won't finish higher than a 6 seed and would need a monumental collapse coupled with a huge push from a Milwaukee/Cleveland to not make the playoffs. So in other words, this year's fate is basically seals. Worst case (barring a Sox-Sept'11-esque collapse) is that we go in as an 8 seed and lose against a Miami or Chicago in the 1st round, and best is that we might beat the 3-4 seed and then most likely lose to one of those teams anyway. Not being pessimistic but it is what it is.
Agree that this year is toast, with caveat that we Boston fans are rather spoiled and a 1st or 2nd round NBA playoff exit is failure. But have to say, just a solid forward/center and pick for Rondo? Where would that leave the team going forward? An uninterested Truth playing out his deal, an average point guard, a solid forward and or center, and tons of cap space? Must disagree on that point. Even with time and some math ability I've been unable to find a suitable deal that makes sense for The Green on Garnett and/or Allen. Still in on a Rondo for D. Williams deal, but unless the Russian guy in charge of the Nets gets made to by scary Putin I can't see that deal happening. Hate to say it but it looks like from here have to depend on Danny finding a good to great deal for Garnett and/or Allen to keep this team rolling. Maybe even Pierce. Garnett for Josh Smith is nice but only from a Green perspective, that does not help the Hawks.
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