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What to make of the Rondo mess
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AP Photo/Winslow Townson: Is Rondo really on his way out of Boston?
The Rajon Rondo rumors have not only continued throughout the offseason, but intensified. Multiple sources have claimed that the Celtics are shopping their talented young point guard, while Celtics front office members refute every rumor that is thrown their way. And just to make matters even more interesting, Rondo’s agent decided to throw his hat into the ring by taking a jab at Danny Ainge. Really good idea when your client is looking for a contract extension.
First, we heard about Rondo being traded with Ray Allen to Phoenix. Then we heard about the Celtics wanting to move up for the #2 spot in the draft (would have been typical Danny Ainge, considering that this is the worst draft in a while), possibly to draft Ricky Rubio. The third rumor involved Rondo and Allen going to Detroit for Rip Hamilton, Rodney Stuckey, and Tayshaun Prince. One final rumor had Rondo and Brian Scalabrine going to Memphis for Mike Conley and Rudy Gay. And who knows if any more rumors will sprout up.
Danny Ainge didn’t do anyone within the organization any favors by publically insulting Rondo, adding fuel to the rumor fire. Ainge was furious that Rondo was late for a few games this season, and clearly was not pleased with the amount of progress Rondo has made with his jumper. He also commented on Rondo’s maturity level, but what does Ainge expect? Rondo’s still a kid, since he came out of school early, and I think that we all have seen at least a few stars become more than comfortable with a certain lifestyle once the attention and money start coming in. This isn’t to say that I absolve Rondo for acting immaturely at times, but I do see why he isn’t quite the perfect gentleman yet. Give him another season, and I don’t think that we’ll hear those comments about him again. Especially now that he’s seen his name thrown around for a while in not the most flattering fashion.
This of course, led to the aforementioned public response from Rondo’s agent, which may be admirable from a personal level, but was downright dumb from a professional level. I’m not sure if Ainge’s comments were wise either, but GMs tend to get more leeway in the press than agents do.
So now we’re left with a young, unhappy point guard who not only hears his name in trade rumors, but hears his GM insult him while trying to deny the rumors at the same time. Not exactly a strong sign of support. Boston fans watch with nervous anticipation, wondering if/when Rondo is getting shipped out, and most importantly for whom. Obviously, the Celtics don’t have anyone internally to replace Rondo, so they’ll need a point guard back in return. And if Allen gets packaged in the deal, as he likely would be, they’ll need a starting shooting guard as well. They have shaky depth at point guard, with Stephon Marbury (a free agent, very tentative and inconsistent while with Boston), Eddie House (lacks solid ball-handling skills, only an OK defender, little penetration ability), and Gabe Pruitt (OK jumper, not a great defender, unproven). The Celtics just drafted Lester Hudson, but he does not appear to be ready for anything other than the D-League at this point, and J.R. Giddens is a shooting guard, not a point (not to mention that he barely played last year). So basically, Boston has a lot of options, but none of them are very good.
In my opinion, this is driven by two things: Boston’s desire to rid itself of Ray Allen’s contract, and Rondo’s below average jumper. A distant third is Rondo’s maturity level, but I think that will improve in time, and I think that while Danny may be right with his complaints, he certainly isn’t making it out to be a significant issue. If Boston didn’t possess Allen’s attractive expiring contract, we wouldn’t be hearing these rumors, or at least not as many of them so early in the offseason. Allen’s contract will help any mediocre and below average team that is simply looking to cut payroll for 2010. As for Rondo’s jumper, well, Danny said it himself: "As we saw in the Orlando series, they left him wide open. His presence hurt us in winning right now because his man went and doubled onto Ray and Paul and made it difficult for us." Not exactly a ringing endorsement from the ol’ GM.
If Rondo hits the gym and focuses on continuing the development of his shot, this will be the last offseason that we hear trade rumors with his name involved. At this point, Boston is scared to give a huge contract to a guy viewed as stubborn with a bad jumper. The former can be overlooked, and at least somewhat contained, if the latter is improved significantly enough.
But there’s that word again: contract. Rondo is in the final year of his rookie deal, and then next offseason he becomes a restricted free agent. If the Celtics wait until next season to offer him an extension, they risk losing him to a team offering him a max (or near max) deal, especially if his jumper shows significant improvement. And even if it doesn’t, a team hungry for a point guard, and especially young talent, may jump at him anyway. If the Celtics decide to re-sign him this offseason, then they risk overpaying an immature, poor shooting point guard whose huge contract will strangle their franchise for years to come.
I personally like Rondo a lot, and feel that he has a ton to offer – he has good court vision, he is a great rebounder, a good defender, and shows no fear when going into the lane. I don’t think that the Celtics should trade him, as he has a solid rapport with his teammates, and unless Boston picks up a veteran PG who can push the tempo, I don’t see a replacement coming in and being able to lead the Celtics to a title this season. I don’t advise the Celtics to extend his deal this offseason, because I think that he does need a bit of an ego check and the Celtics need some sort of confirmation that his jumper will improve. But next offseason, if Rondo continues his development, the Celtics need to bring him back.
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