Rondo got abused on defense by a very good player in Rose and a not so good player in Alston.The worse part was he seemed more interested in getting his points than stopping his guy.Basically he lost the Orlando series and Danny let him know it.New year,new contract…we’ll see

also disappointed in the Orlando series. I don’t think we should give him the contract he wants now. Let him prove he can be more consistent, improve on his jump shot, and stay in front of his man better. I love Rondo but I don’t think he deserves now anything north of say 10 million a year unless if he does those things.

Rondo didn’t get abused by either of those guys. They ARE good, HE’S good.

To me the key thing is that he’s out-performed everyone drafted above him except Brandon Roy. Only others near him are LaMarcus Aldredge and Rudy Gay. Motown, be honest, you wanted to draft Marcus Williams, didn’t you.

I’m confident in Danny’s handling of Rondo. He’s a different young man. Likes rollerskating. Imagine the self-confidence it takes to become the “leader” in terms of point guard with the Big Three.

How anyone could expect more of a 23 year old, amazing thought incomplete talent, is beyond me.

Well, Rondo gets a “get out of jail free” card for a lot of his shortcomings – but apparently not from Ainge.

And I definitely expect more from Rondo – because he’s capable of delivering more. He can play hard on every possession. He can work MUCH harder on defense fighting through picks and playing in front of his man, not behind him. And he can improve his shooting, from the floor and the foul line.

I’ll be watching him closely when the pre-season starts, and I expect more than I saw from him in the playoffs, particularly the Orlando series.

Marcus Williams???? sorry but you got the wrong guy….we’re not torching Rondo but he’s played better and will continue to play better but he had some slippage on defense that hurt us and it showed more because of all the other “issues” you have stated…Danny started the fight ,we’re just commenting…heck,i’d sign’m tomorrow longterm

Its just too soon to crown Rondo as the Heir apparent to Pierce. Yes, at time Rondo outplays the Chris Paul, but the next night he gets schooled by Rafer Alston. Rondo is still a developing player, and we just have to be patient. His craft is not refined yet, but once he refines it Rondo could be in the HOF.

   I get scared everytime he drives thru traffic to the hoop. It seems every game I watch, he takes at least one BRUTAL fall! I’m afraid, with his scrawny body, that one of these times he won’t get back up and may never be the same player again.

Rondo is one of the best point guards in NBA, period. I’m a big fan of him and for me it’s obvious that he deserves a longterm contract worth at least 10 million per year. However, I know it might sound little strange, but I do think that he could have played better in the series with Orlando.It’s just a feeling, but for me it seemed like he focused more on his stats (and, let’s say, how to slam in a face of DH12, he tried to do it at least three times) than actually help to the team. Currently, he desperately needs an improve regarding his jump shot. Because a considerable amount of his contract has to equal with his versatility, it’s simple as that. But if he can do this, he will be doubtless in the first echelon of point guards for long years.

PS Sorry for possible mistakes, I’m a foreigner:)

I think it is safe to assume that 90% of objective GMs would take Paul over Rondo, all things considered. Chris Paul lights it up on team for of mediocrity. Rondo makes it happen on a team with 3 potential hall-of-famers. Slight difference in willingness and ability.

I got to admit that i was so relieved once i found out we werent trading Rondo.
I saw the same thing with the on the bubble of hall of famer to be Chauncey billups.
We spent so many yrs waiting to get another real PG, then we get Chauncey and cant see how valuable he is , then i see history repeating itself with Rondo and i think to myself, this team cant be serious in trying to trade away the 2nd real pg it had in 20 yrs and then we will have to watch our 2nd pg collect a few rings while we go rutterless.

Keep the triple double phenom who keeps improving yr to year at least long enough to see how good he becomes and how wise he becomes once he is a veteran. If we wanted Chauncey back in his prime but knew their was no chance in Detroit giving him up as they were going for titles and rings, what do you think the chances of getting Rondo back from whoever gives us parts , once they start winning championships. And then how long will it be before another real pg comes to us, 1 of 28 teams all wanting a star pg.

As Talented as Rondo is, he has attitude problems. So much so, that during the playoffs particularly against the Magic, he was making numerous amount of dumb plays that seemed as if he was doing it in spite of something. Whether it was forcing Jumpshots while other players were open or gambling on passes, it did seem like he was frustrated & taking it out on his team in a way. That is a sign of Immaturity.

Also, Danny seems as if he is not pleased with his attitude. Right after the playoffs ended, Danny goes public with his comments about Rondo. Regardless of practically averaging a triple-double in the 1st round, he was awful against the magic. WHO SHOWS UP LATE TO A PLAYOFF GAME?!! Everybody in here is giving him a pass because of his talent, Screw that. He’s just as accountable and irresponsible as a player of inferior talent. If this was Gerald Green or even Tony allen i wonder what people would say.

If he’s going to show up late to playoff games when he’s on the same team with people like Pierce/Allen/Garnett, what will it take to humble him??

“The single biggest thing with him,” said Ainge, “is getting him to compete night in and night out.”

That is possibly the worst flaw for a young player to have, especially having the privelage of playing with the players he has. I would be much more concerned for his future than you guys. Thats not Celtic loyalty, more-so the type of player that would leave his current situation to play on a lottery team just because they offered him a little more money.

This is especially true of a team-oriented Team like the Celtics. Each player’s performance depends on the others and vice versa. As to Danny’s public comments, he has a bad habit. If asked a question, he actually answers it if he can. Many think of Danny as a politician. In that case he should be running for office. Danny is candid and will give an opinion if it’s not a matter of privacy. Doc is the same. I like this because it gives insight into the team. When Danny says: “he needs to compete night in and night out”, it could mean many things. The most obvious is that he doesn’t try to win every nite. I personally find this hard to believe, that Rondo doesn’t give his best every nite. Maybe that’s what Danny meant. And maybe not. I could also take it to mean that Rondo has to adjust his game night in and night out depending on circumstances. Doc often says he forgets that Rondo is only 23 years old. He often has to step back while he pushes him to be “the best that he can be”.

Rondo’s a fairly good point guard. (I’m being sarcastic here. Rondo is one heck of a point guard). He’s a perfect fit for the Celtics because he’s a pass first player, as opposed to many others. But, if a team is missing KG, and Ray and Paul are playing hurt, then Rondo needs to change his game. That’s when he’s forced to get away from what he does best. And also lets not forget that towards the end of the season Rondo and Ed LaCerte were constantly commuting back to the locker room to retape one ankle or the other. He was playing on two sprained ankles and who knows what else, as he spends much of the game on the floor.

Rondo definitely needs to improve his game, both mentally and technically. And I’m sure he will. Not many point guards helped his team win a Championship in the first year he really played as part of the team (discounting first year). Also, let’s not forget that Doc gave Rondo “the keys to the car” last year. Even when Rondo looked to Doc to see what to do, Doc wouldn’t respond, forcing Rondo to make the decisions on the floor.

We might be making too much out of nothing as we wait for the Marquis Daniels deal to finalize.

Your logic is flawed. You are saying Ray Allen shot 30% in the ORL series while making 18mill, so Rondo automatically deserves more than 10mill?? So Since Big Baby, had a nice playoffs and had a better FG% than Ray Allen against ORL & even hitting a buzzer beater, the 3mill per year salary he got is asinine?? Should Eddie House now get 19mill if he out shoots Ray Next year??

Rondo hasn’t proven anything consistantly enough to warrant 10Mill+ YET. 10+mill per players don’t show up late to playoff games. If he had improved his J by now like big baby did this year, than yes he would be worth it. He’s not consistant enough yet and needs some more versatility in his O-Game , which is a reason why he didn’t make the all-star game this year.

And it isn’t even close. As my memory goes, only Cousy was comparable (and better). No one passed like Rondo. Not Tiny, DJ, KC Jones, Don Chaney, Charlie Scott, Jo Jo White, none of them was as good as Rondo is at braking the D down and passing the ball in a half court, open court, you name it. Only the Master himself, Couz, was beter at it. Others shot the ball better, or defended better but passing!?

( By the way, for those of you who never saw KC Jones defend, well, MYGOD is all I can say. He was special. And here is a fact I bet no one here knows. KC had only one game in his career over twenty points. It was a playoff game as I recall. 21 I think. He was the worst shooter on the planet.)

Rondo deserves a lot of money his next salary agreement.

the bonus, imo, of how the Baby situation worked out over the summer, is that it set the tone for future Rondo negotiations. Big Baby played some good games surrounded by a very talented cast, and suddenly he thought he would get the full MLE. Then reality set in and teams all questioned his lack of height, lack of vertical leap, etc., and the offers never came. Danny was right on about his value and his weaknesses, and he is right about Rondo. Rondo had a great run on a team of great players, but he still has some major weaknesses and they are obvious to everyone in the league, and they were fully exploited in big games. I think Rondo and/or his agent were trying to hype him up for a big contract, and Danny put them back down to earth, and he knows he’s right, until Rondo gets a steady jumpshot, learns to keep his man in front of him and out of the paint, and can play at a high level every night instead of one month on and one month off, then he is not getting a big payday.

His energy, speed, tenacity, steals, rebounding, passing, etc.

However, if you`re a guard, it`s “required” that you develop an outside jump shot. Rondo should be taking 500+ jumpers every day of the summer. What else does he have better to do with his time?

The basket is large enough so that two balls can go through the net at once. Assuming he wants it bad enough, there is no excuse for him not to develop a respectable shot.

I don’t think anybody is saying rondo is not the best point this city has seen in years. Yet his game has flaws and some of them may be fatal. Lets consider the two most prevelant:

1) attitude

arrogance – for example letting the ball roll up the court and having it nearly swiped on a number of occasioned tardiness game time is not when people should show up. I assume the team has a time which everyone should have reported by. effort night in and night out he doesn’t bring it on D. He gets an uncanny number of steals, but struggles keeping people in front of him, and on picks. He is NOT a lock down defender. He does have the tools though

2) shot

     He may or may not develop a jumper – but he should at least be an 80% free throw shooter. That is just time and effort – we’ll seehow he progresses.

Do you want to lock up a limited resource for someone who has some flaws? Is he enough to carry a team on his own? What is the plan as the three age? Bring in FA on new contracts – what is rondos rep in the leage? Do they want to play with him? Do we blow it up 100% and start rom scratch after this year? Trading: Rondo, and KG?

We don’t know what danny is thinking; We love what rondo has brought to this team – but becaus ehe is the best point we have seen here in years doesn’t make him a max guy. Toine (and I love him) was the best big we have had here since K.Mc and we gave him a max deal – how did that work out; did his game improve or decline?

You don’t pay people based on one example of what someone else is making. and you don’t pay people because they are the best that is available or you have seen in a while. If you do either you tie up resources and when the person who is all that is available you can’t pay them either.

good article and good controversy. rondo is great but i do hope he can at least develop his free throw accuracy. between cous and rondo, there was tiny. do not sell tiny short. he could shoot and penetrate and pass. rondo is a better rebounder and while his defense might be better, he is more spotty on d and tiny with not as many steals was steady on d. all the great ones have ego problems, their greatness increases the size of their egos, so i can live with rondo being a bit puckish or peckish.

If Rondo played on the Kings would he get a 10+mill dollar extension based on his talent? Or would his flaws be even more exposed, due to the lack of supporting cast…

I had no idea that so many people have problems with Rondo. He is the most fun point guard to watch in the league. For all his faults he has scary mutant pros.

Just wow. Be glad we don’t have 95% of the other point guards, or you guys would be lighting torches and dusting of the guillotine.

3 Years guys. This is our third year point guard. He brought us a ring. Give the man some love. He is amazing, and he can palm your face like a crawly thing from Alien.