Roundtable: How much longer will Rajon Rondo be on the Celtics?


So as a long, boring summer ends for the Celtics, we thought it'd be fun to tackle some Cs related questions in roundtable form.

First up: How long will Rajon Rondo be on the Celtics?

Now it's important to note that this question was posed before yesterday's "Rondo wants out" story. Let's see how much that impacted everyone's opinion.


Mike Dyer


Rajon Rondo is a cockroach, you just can't kill him.

No matter how many rumors there have been about him over the last 3-4 years, at the end of the day he's still a Boston Celtic. And that's why, despite Jackie Mac's inside info -- I think Rondo will not only be here until the end of this season, but that he will re-sign in Boston.

As much as I respect Jackie, let's not take an offhand comment that was said during a commercial break as gospel. While I'm sure she didn't make it up, there are so many details that we don't know. Was this said at some point last season? Was it said in frustration after the Kevin Love situation didn't work out? Was a formal trade request ever made -- or was it more of an "I'm open to being traded, but only if it's the right situation". Because usually when players really want to get dealt -- they make that known publicly. See: Love, Kevin; Paul, Chris; Howard, Dwight, ect. I'm sure Rondo would love to be dealt to a contending team that needs a point guard -- but he must also understand that there are very few teams that fit that criteria and have the necessary pieces to land him.

So since I'm not quite convinced that Rondo has truly demanded a trade, and knowing that Danny Ainge will not be giving him away for peanuts -- I don't think he gets dealt. Which brings us to next summer.

There will still be a lack of contending teams that need a point guard and have the cap space to give Rondo $15-20 million per season. But the Celtics can give Rondo that money, plus they'll be able to sign another All-Star caliber player to go with a suddenly intriguing young core (Sullinger, Smart, Bradley, Olynyk, Young, whoever they draft in 2015) and Rondo. So if you're Rondo, and you can get more money to play for an improving young team in a place where you're comfortable..why wouldn't you strongly consider that?

Don't get me wrong, the situation I'm laying out is far from a guarantee. But if I'm considering all the possibilities: an in season trade, Rondo leaving next summer, or Rondo staying in Boston, I'm giving the slight edge to Rondo sticking around. Maybe it's only a 40% chance he stays vs. a 30% chance he signs somewhere else and a 30% chance he's dealt -- but I still think it's the most likely scenario.



Mark Vandeusen

Do you remember last fall when Bill Simmons and Jalen Rose said the Celtics were definitely going to trade Rondo? Well guess what, it didn't happened. And in all the times it's been rumored over the years, it's never happened. Danny Ainge always thinks the offers for Rondo aren't good enough, and he's probably right. Jackie Mac even said she doesn't think the Celtics can get 80 cents on the dollar for him. My guess is Danny continues to not trade Rondo, but 50/50 on whether he signs an extension or Boston lets him walk next summer and uses his money on someone else.



Eric Blaisdell

Rajon Rondo will be moved during the season. It makes little sense to move him now, with his value where it is, and he's not going to stick with the current rebuilding plan and re-sign next summer. Let him play a few games and show other teams that he's truly back to "old Rondo." Once his value goes back up, then you move him to a contender or someone who thinks they are a contender. Of course, if Danny Ainge swings for the fences and brings in a stud, this could all change. But like we saw with Kevin Love, someone has to be willing to take what you're offering.



Padraic O'Connor

Rondo is going to be on the Celtics all season long, and possibly longer.

If Jackie McMullen is to be believed (and Hall of Fame reporters usually are) Rondo wants out, but it is unclear who Ainge is going to trade with to ship him out.

I think Ainge holds on to Rondo and tries his luck with him in free agency. If another marquee player can be acquired through trade or through free agency, Rondo will re-sign. If there is another very quiet summer, then Rondo enters his 30's on another team. Probably NYK or LAL.



Matt Richissin

I know the consensus is that it'll take a while, but I think this thing ends sooner rather than later.

I know Sacramento's been brought up a lot, but I think the team to watch out for is the Pistons; a Rondo-Monroe swap makes a ton of sense for both sides. It solves a boat load of issues for Detroit; they get a true distributor at the 1, allow Smith to move back to the 4 positions, and all of a sudden become an elite defensive squad. Plus, I think a move to the two guard could end up being a good thing for Brandon Jennings.

The sizzle might be off Greg Monroe a little, but don't forget what he is; a 24 year old, 6 foot 11 center who has hovered around 15 points and 9.5 rebounds a game. He's a strong post player, a very good passer, and while there's some concerns about his defense, I'm fully confident he can be taught the Al Jefferson 'oh ya, I'm actually kind of huge and if I just stay around the hoop and be big, I can actually be quite good' defense. And for reasons I don't totally understand, all of that can be had for about 12 million dollars.



Mike Saver


I believe Rondo will stay on the team through the entire season, but beyond that, he's probably gone.

If I was asked this before yesterday, I would've told you that I completely bought everything Ainge and Rondo have said publicly and that the Celtics would keep their star point guard. Now i'm not so sure. When Jackie MacMullan says he doesn't want to re-sign with the team off-air, you should probably listen.

I do not believe Ainge wants to trade Rondo though. When Ainge tells the media he thinks Rondo is a star and someone capable of building a team around, I think that's genuine. However, Rondo was in the unique position of being in championship contention nearly every year of his career. Now that times have changed and it's clear that the team is in for a long rebuilding process, it probably doesn't make much sense for either side to stay together.

I also believe Rondo probably feels a bit let down that the Celtics weren't able to make a big splash during this off-season. Certainly, Boston brass built up a lot of hype with their "fireworks" talk and it sounds like they gave Rondo the same speech. Back in late June, Rondo was a guest on ESPN's Numbers Never Lie and was asked what he knew about Danny Ainge's plans this summer.

"I can't say too much. We want to be contenders as well next year, we don’t plan on being down too long," said Rondo. "I think Danny has a lot of wiggle room with what he did in the past couples years in the draft. So, I’m looking forward to what’s going to happen"

That to me says that he was expecting big things, which of course the Celtics did not deliver. He was willing to accept losing for a season, but if it's going to become a regular thing with no end in sight, Rondo will not want to be a part of that.

Unfortuntately, the Celtics probably cannot get much for Rondo, which puts them in a tough position. That's why I believe Rondo will last past the trade deadline, as Ainge can try to pull off one last pitch by taking advantage of a loaded free agent class and hopefully luring Rondo back. If that fails, which it likely will, then I predict Rondo signs with another team in a sign and trade.

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