I really like what you wrote, with all these rumors a lot of people (myself included) were thinking that we were definitely trading Rondo or Ray. After reading your post it makes it clear that we were offered a trade for Rondo and other than Ainge’s interest in high pick we have not heard any concrete rumors. I hope we don’t trade either player and eventually end up buying a late first.

Good piece. There’s certainly nothing wrong with kicking a few tires, which is all any of this means – and Chad Ford doesn’t have a lot more credibility with me than Hoopshype.

The important thing for Ainge to remember is that any move he makes should enhance this club’s ability to win a title next year. Period. Rebuilding isn’t called for, and it isn’t necessary at this point.

Hence, any move to trade a starter for a draft pick and a package of spare parts, such as the trades Ford proposes, isn’t appropriate, and it won’t be greeted pleasantly in this quarter.

speaking of rumors, a good friend who stays on top of the entire league told me last night the latest rumor is Rondo and Ray for Wade.

Filler would look something like Tony Allen and we would get Chalmers a good young point and James Jones, great shooter with a bad contract.

The rumor goes, the Heat think they could lose Wade no matter what so they do this trade simply to get Rondo to go with Beasly, then they have Ray Allen expiring and JO expiring, two killer contracts to be shopping this summer and in Feb when everyone 80% of the league will be looking to clear cap space.

Celts get Dwane Freaking Wade to go with Truth and KG, then you could tell Jason Kidd to come get his ring, or Andre Miller, or AI or Sheed, with a core of Wade Pierce and KG there isn’t a vet in the league that wouldn’t come here for free. If they care about winning

Danny was not willing to include Rondo in the Garnett deal and was willing to take the chance of not trading for Garnett if it was going to cost him Rondo. So, with that in mind, I would be surprised if Rondo is on the trading block.

I agree with you for the most part except I’m not sure Ainge has a lot of opportunities to enhance this team this summer. If he keeps the starting 5 intact he needs to bargain shop for his bench and his track record off of last year isn’t good. For all who believe that Rasheed Wallace or Jason Kidd or AI, etc. will sign for the MLE just to get a ring, I will believe it when i see it. I’ll be hoping Danny gets unbelieveably lucky with a Quincy Ross signing or a Keeyon Dooling trade. Maybe he gets daring and throws all the MLE at Gortat from Orlando which is what it will take. On the other hand, if Ainge does not believe Rondo is a 12-15 million a year player and has a hunch that his agent will be looking for that next summer, wouldn’t it be likely that he would move him on to someone else. He would get back some serious talent and would be probably keeping Ray for one more year and possibly having more cap room to use in the summer of 2010. I will admit I haven’t crunched the numbers. But for example say he gets the Kings pick in the upcoming draft and also Hawes or Thompson. He then is paying what 6 mil or so on those kids and then after renouncing Ray after this season, Ainge might have the room to bring in a Joe Johnson type or so. Maybe, Maybe not. Roy would probably be better to answer that question. I think that could be what he’s churning around in his mind. Tip of the hat to Winsome who mentioned this in the forums. If he picks up a vet point guard to replace Rondo for this coming season are we that much worse off to go for another title? Something to chew on. At least it isn’t dull around here.

Why is trading Ray and his expiring contract better for us than having Ray’s services this year and taking that $19 mil off our own payroll next year?

  which means that when we make a trade we have to send out close to the dollar amount of what we get in a trade. If you trade Ray you can bring in $20M (or so) worth of contracts. If you let him go you can’t trade for a big money player and you won’t have any more cap space than we have now.

I can’t imagine Doc giving a rookie significant playing time no matter how high they go in the draft . I’d hate to lose Ray or Rondo for someone who won’t be allowed to contribute meaningfully next season.

Its simple:

Ainge is gauging the value of Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo on the open market – they are his two largest trade assets as far as changing the team around and remaining competitive.

He clearly likes some of the top-end talent in this draft and sees an opportunity to set up the team’s future while maintaining their championship aspirations in the here and now.

With so many quality PG’s and SG’s in this year’s draft, Ainge is seeing if he can’t work out some way to gather top-end talent via the draft and then fill the veteran void via trade and free agency.

Ray’s contract can clearly bring back a host of veteran players, as the Washington speculation displayed, thus rebuilding the bench with vets. Rondo could net the team another high quality package of goods with a higher end talent and a pick.

With players like Wallace, McDyess, Iverson, Marbury, Kidd, and Miller on the market, Ainge probably sees the potential to both fill the roster with top-end talent while still putting quality veterans together for a championship squad.

whether or not anything manifests remains to be seen, but making sense of these rumors is as simple as looking at the market and understanding the needs and opportunities inherent therein….

I was talking about Ainge’s opportunities for this coming summer not last summer. last summer he clearly did not choose to go the route you would of liked. I’m saying he could be going that same route this summer if he does not move either Ray or Rondo or both as Bill mentioned. If the starting 5 comes back intact, I think we’re looking at some scrubs for the bench again as the MLE will probably be split up and then someone may come in on a veteran minimum deal or on the LLE. What can we get for that kind of money? Ainge will have to get lucky.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/198767-tyreke-evans-to-be-drafted-by-the-boston-celtics

Reports seem to have Ainge targeting Evans or Rubio. What if, instead, Ainge wanted Kevin Martin and the #4 for Rondo and then drafted Hill from Arizona at #4? First would Sacremento do this? Second does Ainge like Hill? he could be the backup answer next year and a developing four to replace KG when he retires.

   Don’t you guys remember what we were when we were healthy? Who had the best start ever in the NBA? What was the Celts record when KG went down. What did we have left at the PF position (and Center) when Powe blew out the knee?

   Also “it takes two to tango”. Deals that y’all liked most probably fell through because the prospective partner (OR HIS WIFE) refused to dance. (Golfing and fishing are not great winter time sports for off-days in Boston).

So, expect the following :

1} Ray Allen has already played his final game as a Celtic. His expiring contract {$20M}, his age {34}, his chances of losing his skills overnight at this stage…makes this decision an absolute no-brainer.

2} For the “right price”, they`ll trade Rondo in a heartbeat. Rondo is good and young, but he`s probably as good as he`ll ever be. He`s no Chris Paul, he`ll never be Chris Paul, but he`ll demand Chris Paul money. So, for the right price, the Celts would just as soon be done with this issue altogether.

3} They must “extend” their window, and that can only be done by getting bigger and younger. Compared to big men, guards are a dime-a-dozen. You can have great guards, but you`re not winning a thing in June without big men!

4} If Boston can get the #2 pick, which they`re trying hard to do, they`ll use it on Thabeet. They won`t waste it on any guard, such as Rubio or Evans.

Is it possible that even with the best starting 5 in the league currently, that by next February that could change due to age, potential injury, etc. Even if Ainge adds superior bench help (which I doubt he will do) it still may not be enough to stop father time. Hope I’m wrong on that.