Season after season, the one player on the Boston Celtics who’s been mentioned in trade rumors is Rajon Rondo. Despite his stellar play, particularly in the playoffs over the last few seasons, Rondo always finds his way into the rumor mill.
Celtics GM Danny Ainge has denied the rumors and has stood by his stance that Rondo will be a vital piece of the Celtics team moving forward.
So, how come Rondo’s name keeps coming up? Is Ainge just saying things to avoid the drama while reaching out to other teams? Is it because Rondo can sometimes be a “hothead”? Is it because he’s one of the most dynamic point guards in the league, and could bring back some value? Or is the media just putting two and two together based on what the Celtics did during the offseason?
Whatever the case may be, the rumors are out there - but Rondo should be staying in Boston for several reasons.
For a team that’s “rebuilding” and looking towards the future, what’s the issue with building around an excellent point guard who gets everyone the ball and makes his teammates better?
He may be a “hothead” sometimes, but that’s never affected his play on the court or his chemistry with his teammates. Everyone knows that Rondo and Doc Rivers butted heads in the past, but how many times did Rivers praise Rondo for his play and his competitive fire? Coaches and players sometimes go at it, but it’s usually better players who absolutely hate to lose that butt heads with their coach from time to time.
Did Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant always get along? How about Allen Iverson and Larry Brown? Look at Dwyane Wade and Eric Spoelstra at times, too. The notion that Rondo is uncoachable and hard-headed isn’t just cause to trade him, even if it’s accurate.
Look at some of his numbers the past few postseasons. He’s been solid during the regular season, but the playoffs are where players define themselves. During the 2008-2009 postseason, Rondo averaged 16.9 ppg, 9.8 apg, and 9.7 rpg. In the playoffs the following year, he averaged 15.8 ppg, 9.3 apg, and 5.6 rpg en route to a Game 7 loss in the NBA Finals. In 2011, he suffered a gruesome arm injury against the Heat in Game 3 of the conference semis, but came back and put together an inspiring performance to hand the Celtics their only win in that series. There’s also the memorable 2012 playoff run, where he averaged 17.3 ppg, 11.9 apg, and 6.7 rpg and put up four triple doubles to cap off that postseason. Are those horrible numbers?
How many other point guards in the league are capable of doing that in the playoffs? It’s hard to deny that he had Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, and they made him play better. That was definitely the case early on, but who was carrying the Celtics over the last few years during their runs? There was a reason Rondo was thrown into the mix, and the “Big Three” became the “Big Four”.
Look at this current Celtics team. They’re 29th in the league in assists per game, with just 17.7 per contest. The one thing they’re missing is a true point guard on the floor. They have enough young pieces at every other position – Kelly Olnynk, Jared Sullinger, Avery Bradley, Jordan Crawford, Jeff Green and Vitor Faverani are all young enough and have enough potential to help Rondo going forward. Boston definitely needs more pieces, but they certainly don’t need a new point guard.
Rondo is one of the most dynamic point guards in the league, and there aren’t many point guards like him. He has enough experience and he’s young enough that the Celtics can build around their new team around him. If the Boston Celtics end up trading Rajon Rondo, they’ll regret it for years to come.
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