Is it Time to Trade Rondo?

by Dave Walsh

Should he stay or should he go? ESPN’s Chris Broussard recently reported that the Boston Celtics are “aggressively shopping” Rajon Rondo because, according to sources, some of the members of the C’s front office feel that Rondo is “stubborn and high-maintenance.” However, when Celtics team president Danny Ainge appeared on WEEI’s The Big Show on Thursday, he denied that they were shopping Rondo at all. This isn’t the first time in his tenure with the Celtics or even this season that Rondo’s name has been brought up in trade talks. Boston fans will remember that at the beginning of the season, when it was clear that Chris Paul wouldn’t be staying in New Orleans, there were several trade rumors involving Rondo that would’ve brought CP3 to Boston.

With the March 15^th trade deadline fast approaching, it’s obvious that the aging, struggling Celtics need to make at least one decent-sized move to be a competitive playoff team. With the way that various NBA insiders have been talking, that move very well might involve Rondo. The rumors come as a bit of a surprise to Boston fans because many believe that Rondo is the future of this franchise. During his time as team president, Ainge has made several unexpected moves but I’d be very surprised to see him trade Rondo for the sole reason that he believes him to be “stubborn and high-maintenance,” which Danny and Doc Rivers have both said are characteristics that you’ll find in any great player. Is it really such a bad thing that we see that same attitude and, dare I say, arrogance that has accompanied greats like Kobe and Jordan?

Ainge doesn't have much time to decide
what to do with rondo

I can only see the Celtics trading Rondo if they receive the “right deal” and it’s very difficult to know what the right deal would be. We don’t know what other moves the Celtics might make in the future with or without Rondo, or if there would be other teams involved in the deal. However, I think the deal would need to include a good big-man, which the Celtics are lacking, and a capable point guard because Avery Bradley isn’t starting point guard material right now. Another option would be for the Celtics to forgo asking for a point guard and run the offense with Pierce as point-forward. However, point-forward offensive schemes typically only work well in spurts and often result in isolation situations, which wouldn’t help the Celtics’ stagnant half-court offense.

There are very few teams in the league with point guards who can match Rondo’s level of play. Rondo is an extremely intelligent player that has great court vision and in his best moments, is a confident and efficient floor general. There are also several playoff bound teams that would benefit from Rondo’s great numbers but also Rondo’s great contract situation. First, let’s take a look at Rondo’s numbers.

So far this season Rondo is averaging 14.2 ppg (a career high), 9.8 apg (2^nd in the league behind Steve Nash), and 4.9 rpg. On his way to averaging these numbers, Rondo has recorded four triple-doubles this season. These are numbers that any team would love for their point guard to have, however Rondo certainly has his flaws. The biggest knocks on Rondo’s basketball abilities are his below average free throw shooting (60%) and his inconsistent outside shooting. However, if he’s on the right team, then these negative points are less of an issue.

The other part of Rondo that would make him an attractive piece to acquire is his contract. Right now, Rondo is scheduled to earn $11 million dollars a year over the next three years, which is a price that will have other teams drooling. Who wouldn’t want to lock up a top tier point guard for multiple seasons at $11 million when other elite point guards like Deron Williams and Chris Paul are earning $17 million a year? At the same time, I could see many teams using Rondo’s low contract against the Celtics during trade talks in an effort to safeguard their more high-paid and elite players from the discussions. In the end, I think that the Celtics will certainly listen to offers from teams for Rondo but I would be surprised if the Celtics would get the “right deal” that would have equal value and supply the Celtics with the parts that they would need moving forward.

If the Celtics don’t trade Rondo, then it appears that he will become one of the cornerstones of the franchise for the coming years. And if you’re going to build with Rondo as one of your linchpins, then you need to use your massive amount of upcoming cap space to acquire players that work well with Rondo’s skill set. Rondo is a pass-first point guard who scores his points by driving to the basket and running the fast break. I think a strategy that could help the Celtics utilize those talents would be to build a team that is set up in a similar fashion to the Orlando Magic.

The Magic’s offense is based on having Dwight Howard as a central presence on the inside and shooters on the perimeter for him to kick the ball out to. If the Celtics followed a similar model, Rondo would fill in the role of the interior presence as he would be able to drive the lane during the fast break and in the half court set and if the defense collapsed on him, then he’d have shooters on the perimeter to kick out to if needed. Several good shooters the Celtics could pursue in free agency would be Ray Allen, Mickael Pietrus, Ryan Anderson, Jason Terry, Steve Novak, and Nick Young.

Along with perimeter shooters you’ll also want to give Rondo the option to dump the ball of to capable big men for easy buckets. Unfortunately, there is a short list of big name free agent power forwards and centers and I have a hard time believing that the C’s could lure either Dwight Howard or Andrew Bynum to Boston. However, the Celtics might be able to make a run at some of the lower priced options on this list like Javale McGee, Brook Lopez, and Roy Hibbert.

Wilcox has helped Rondo show how
how deadly he can be on the fast break.

The final key to all of this is making sure that all of the players the Celtics acquire will get out and run the fast break. Rondo is easily one of the fastest players in the league and if he is running the fast break, then he needs players who are committed to getting out and running with him.

If you watch the C’s play now, you’ll notice that there are very few players that are running with Rondo, which is a waste of one of his greatest strengths. You will also see that when players like Chris Wilcox and JaJuan Johnson do run the floor with him, the offense thrives. The NBA is evolving into a fast break league where most of the top teams (Bulls, Heat, Thunder) wear down opposing teams by running an efficient fast break and playing pressure defense. The teams that work primarily in half court sets are struggling at the end of games because they’re trying to keep up with the run and gun teams. In order to remain a contender in this league, your team must be able to keep up with teams that can run the fast break while running an efficient fast break of their own.

I don’t see the Celtics trading Rondo before the March 15^th deadline because I don’t think that Ainge will see enough coming back to him to make it worth his while. The Celtics have a special player in Rondo, but just don’t have the right pieces around him right now. Their best bet at winning a championship as soon as possible would be to keep Rondo and use the ample salary cap space they have in the offseason to build the right team around him.