NBA Trade Rumors: Giving Up Rajon Rondo to Hornets an Awful Move for Celtics
Rajon Rondo for Chris Paul? The Boston Celtics should have never even considered making such a ridiculous move.
According to reports from several sources, including ESPN Boston, the Boston Celtics were considering a trade that would send Rajon Rondo to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for elite point guard Chris Paul. The trade would have likely sent over draft picks or some other compensation along with Rondo to the Hornets.
For one, giving up Rondo is giving up any sort of talent the Celtics will have to rebuild their team around in the near future.
Soon enough, Paul Pierce and the Big Three will have called it quits and there will need to be a strong base of talent on the team going forward. Having a young, talented leader in Rondo to run the team will help the Celtics continue to be a winning ball club and undoubtedly help the team in its rebuilding process.
Without Rondo, the Celtics are looking at Jeff Green, Avery Bradley, E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson to lead the team in two to three years. This is a scenario Danny Ainge would have the team looking at down the line if they were to acquire CP3 prior to the start of the season.
Why?
Simply put, Chris Paul is not in it for the long haul. Paul has made it clear on countless occasions that he has an interest in playing alongside Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire as a member of the New York Knicks. Paul said that he would not guarantee a contract extension if he were to join the Celtics, which means after one year (a shortened one for that matter), Paul is all but gone and the Celtics are without a point guard.
Another significant reason the Celtics cannot let Rondo go: He is arguably as talented a point guard as the team has had since Dennis Johnson helped the team win three championships in 1986. When you go down the list, after DJ and Bob Cousy, Rondo may be the third best point guard in team history.
What makes it all the more impressive is that he only continues to improve in his production for the team.
Last season, Rondo averaged 10.6 points, 11.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. His 11.2 assists per game were second to Steve Nash's league-leading 11.4. The 11.2 assists and 2.3 steals were both career highs for the five-year pro out of Kentucky.
Rondo is a distributor on offense that ranks among the best in the game when it comes to running the offense and setting up scorers in the half-court set.
Many argue that having Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen alongside him is the reason why he pads up numbers. Yet, in reality, there are other point guards in the league that don't put up his assist numbers and have a plethora of talent around them.
Take Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City as an example. He may be a significantly better scorer than arguably any point guard in the league, yet as a leader and distributor he is not anywhere near Rondo. Westbrook averages just 8.2 assists and nearly four turnovers per game.
When it's all said and done, Paul would be a one-year-wonder for the team as point guard, while Rondo will give the Celtics a solid 10-12 years of play. If the Celtics want both a chance to win a title in 2012 and a chance at contending in years to come, giving up their most talented player outside of the Big Three is not the answer.
