Why the Celtics Should Trade Rajon Rondo for Pau Gasol

Sorry, but my faith in humanity will be lost if Paul pierce wears a nonceltic jersey that doesn’t say “all-star” on it

He has become a triple-double factory, and has become one of the premier distributers in the game.

that does not make sense..id take rondo 10x out of ten over Gasoft any day. Its the reason whythe Fakers are trying to fool DA into thinking that we are better off with Gasol when we r not.

I agree that Gasol has more value than Rondo but that’s only because he’s a big man. Not because of his production, age or contract. I don’t think Rondo will be traded but I do see Ainge moving KG or Ray. I don’t know how Ainge could move KG but I definetly see him moving Ray.
The thought of trading for Gasol & then trading him for someone else is interesting. I might do it then but like the vetoed CP3 trade, NOTHING is guaranteed until they sign & a press conference is held. But that is an interesting thought.
The only part I disagree with is that Rondo hasn’t improved since 2008. That is ridiculous…& amnestying Pierce?! Let’s relax here.

I was on the fence about this trade until I read it. Now I am for it.

Mubub33b:

-Gasol has more value than Rondo but ‘only because he’s a big man, not because of his age and production.’ ??? So what? All that matters is he has more value than Rajon, now and over the summer.

-Like you said, ‘nothing is guaranteed’ but I think we have a pretty decent understanding of Pau’s value. You can easily revist a trade with Houston (which as I pointed out, would be pretty easy esp with our old friend Kevin McHale, and even former Celtic front office member Daryl Morey – who is the GM of the Rockets now). Houston has plenty of interesting pieces. Heck, since Pau’s value has declined a hair since the ill-fated CP3 three way deal, I’d tell them they could keep Martin. You could just take back Patterson or Budinger, if not both. Minnesota also has some very interesting pieces as well. Both of these teams would almost certainly throw in a draft pick as well.

Even Michael Felger pointed this out last night (who is not exactly Mr. Basketball), if the Celtics had Rajon on a team next year without much of that veteran leadership to keep him in line (which I think is an aspect not many look at - look how bad it has gotten for Glen Davis in Orlando where the idiots run the asylum there), what are the odds that he becomes a complete malcontent and his trade value becomes all but nothing? 95%? As I said in that write-up — Ainge knows this. Boston is trading Rondo, he will be nowhere near a rebuilding team. Heck, he already went into total tank mode for March and April last year (right after they traded his buddy Perkins), and arguably cost the Celtics the #1 seed in the conference, and DEFINITELY the #2 seed (Boston was 3 games up for the 1 seed in Mid March and 5 up for the 2 seed, and they fell all the way to 3.) Hell, that was for a competitive Celtics team. How’s it gonna go for a Celtics team that is losing 45-60 games a year???

-If Danny is getting anything for Rondo, he’s got to do it now. And there’s absolutely no chance in hell do the Celtics see anything of the value of Pau Gasol ever again. So you don’t do this Pau trade, and the Lakers go out and fix their PG situation with something else. Then what? First off, there’s another team that would have a Point guard. What are the Celtics going to trade Rondo for? The only scenario I could even imagine is Utah, for say Paul Millsap – which I would not mind at all, even though Millsap is due a contract extention that would probably be at 4-5 years close to the max. But I’d doubt even that would work out because there’d almost be a bidding war for someone like Millsap.

-Ask yourself this as well. Team X and Y are always interested in Pau. Yet I never hear about Team Z interested in Rondo. Ainge is always trying to jam him down some team’s throat. Moving Pau would be infinitely easier than moving Rondo, even at his age and salary. Teams always needs bigs. And almost no team, besides the Lakers, and maybe Jazz and Magic need a point guard.

-Pierce would only be amnestied IF they got both Howard and Williams to sign. Just like how once the Knicks got Chandler to agree to play for them, they went out and amnestied Billups (which they were not going to do until they had Tyson agree.) Same situation with us.

but there are a few things I don’t really agree with or just want to nitpick a bit at.

First of all, the whole Dwight wants to play with Gasol seems a bit misleading to me. I think what Dwight meant wasn’t necessarily that he wanted to play with Gasol, which I’m sure he does, but more to do with how pairing him and Bynum up would make no sense. Also, it’d be Gasol AND Kobe, so…there’s that.

I think you’re overstating Rondo’s moodiness and unwillingness to play on a non-contending team, but that’s just my opinion.

His jumpshot is still more or less nonexistent, but he has tried to make up for it. His off-ball cuts and play is constantly underrated or left unnoticed and he’s become a much better and aggressive finisher. Obviously, this is just sharpening the edges like you said, but he has improved his game by a healthy amount and while a jumpshot would be nice to pretend as if these improvements are marginal or unimportant seems unfair.

Everything else, though, I more or less agree with. I don’t particularly love or hate Rondo and I don’t agree that he HAS to be moved, but I wouldn’t mind this particular trade.

It makes sense. A good point guard is not what this team needs now. It needs rebounding. If Rondo was a play making point guard ala derrick Rose or chris paul, then sure keep him. But this team can get buy with a servicable point guard that can dish the ball and and run the offense. Bradley/Dooling/Moore are all potential in that capacity. What Rondo does bring is a PG that sometimes wants to be a SG/SF. It’s nice but it has not always translated to wins. So instead of running him into the ground trying to have him play two or three roles, trade him and get what we really need which is a scoring big. If Doc can manage Gasols minutes we could have some nice frontcourt depth. We’ve got young legs that can be sporadic when shooting…what we need is someone that can grad the ball when they are off. Not that this is a substantive indicator but the Offesne did run better with Rondo not starting. Im not saying its better without him, but it may be that him doing too much, is too much, when we really just need someone to do just enough. Furhtermore, it preserves the Big 3, whom, for sentimental reasons I would like to see finish out one more run. Cant wait till march.

Some people in other threads were saying Rondo is now a good jump shooter and just needs to shoot more often with more confidence, I don’t think that is true but it has gotten better. His passing and defense are also better give him some credit. In the end this only makes sense if Gasol is going to be moved for young pieces/expiring contract. It would be impossible to have Deron/Gasol/D12 unless their teams are willing to help out with sign and trades so we can go way over the cap like Miami did. Cleveland and Toronto did it for the trade exceptions, NJ and Orlando won’t be so willing.

I think he’s an athlete that we wont ever see again in the NBA. Some of the things he can do from the point are astounding. His rebounding and ballhandling are unparalleled.

All that said, I would do that Gasol trade in a millisecond. You win the title by controlling the rim as we learned in ’10., and those things Rondo can do are slowly becoming things he used to do because of the beating he takes with the style of play he needs to use to be effective.

Keep Pierce and Allen. Trade KG and Rondo now.

Would LA be better with Rondo? Don’t know, but Fisher is toast and Rondo has proven he can play well with a couple, of hall of famers now hasn’t he?
Bryant + Bynum + ? + Rondo = better? Would have to say yes.

Gasol traded to another team for a chip that might help C’s with the DH deal?

I have been advocating a rondo for gasol deal for a couple of months now.. I think this is a great post.. as presently constituted the celtics have 0 chance of winning the title this year.. with gasol, they have about a 5 percent chance.. but even for the future, you don’t want rondo in a rebuidling situation..his flaws become more obvious the less talent he has around him and his game is based primarily on athleticism that may decline sooner than later with the pounding he has taken.. i think that doc and danny lost alot of faitih in him with how he pouted after the perk trade last year and the seed slipped as a result..
This team currently is a half court team with a transition point guard.. its alot easier to get a big guy who would fit perfectly with that mold and solve the interior scoring/rebounding issues that are glaring and ultimately fatal weaknesses..than it is to completely transitoin to a team that would fit rondo.. when he isn’t even good enough to be the best player on a title team.. I don’t even think that’s debatable..Do the deal danny! people on this board severly overrate gasol, when the reality is celts would have 18 banners in the rafters if he hadn’t murdered kg on the boards in game 7..

that none of you have the ability to trade anyone. In the origional post, you make it sound like the elbow injury in the playoffs was because RR is fragile. Are you friggin kidding me? BUT you don’t mention that he came back to play in that game with a dislocated elbow!! Yep, that’s fragile and a bad attitude for ya. PLEEZZZZZZZZ!! If ya’ll want Gasol, I prefer to trade a few of the posters on this blog. And please, of all you guys who favor trading Rondo, please tell me which person in the Celtics management or player in the locker room said/says Rondo has a bad attitude and sulks. It is VERY easy to just make something up and run with it. Share your source!

He hasn’t got a jump shot. Traditionally point guards who rely on their athleticism but never develop a jump shot fall of the face of the planet at around 30-31. Point guards who can shoot remain an effective part of a team well into their 30s. But still I’m not keen on paying Pau Gasol $19m when he’s 33. He’s already shown a decline in the last 2 years (admittedly this is partly due to Bynums emergence) and I highly doubt he will be a major factor in getting Howard and / or Williams to play for the Celtics. Once again trade Rondo, but not for Gasol.