Three reasons why it's a bad idea for the Celtics to trade Rajon Rondo
Yesterday Danny Ainge said that he's taken calls from other teams regarding Rajon Rondo, but that he has no intentions of dealing away his All-Star point guard. A Sporting News article by Sean Deveney also sites a source who says Rondo has not asked to be traded, despite being the lone holdover from the Celtics 2010 Finals team. However, the trade rumors regarding Rondo never seem to go away. Here's why it makes no logical sense at the moment for Boston to dig deeper into their rebuilding process by moving him:
1. Rondo is hurt. Coming off ACL surgery, nobody knows for sure if he'll be the same player that he was. Any trade the C's make involving him now would reflect that, and there's no way they would be able to recoup equal value in return. Making a deal for 70 cents on the dollar is never smart business.
2. The common perception is that Rondo does not have the proper mindset to be the veteran leader of this team; that he's not a player to "build around." But we'll never know for sure until we see it. Now that Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are gone, there's no disputing that this is his team. Maybe Rondo will excel in the role as the number one guy, maybe he won't, but why get rid of him before at least allowing him the opportunity?
3. The Celtics aren't planning to be a contender next year. The smartest thing Danny Ainge can do right now is be patient. There is no reason for him to rush into making any other major moves. If the goal is the long term future success of the franchise, it's a lot more likely he'll be able to accomplish that by taking his time and exploring all possible options. What are the odds that the key ingredient to the C's return to greatness is actually something that's available right now? Rondo and Boston's other assets (Jeff Green, Avery Bradley, Jared Sullinger, and the stockpiling draft picks) will still have as much value (if not more) into the 2013-2014 season and beyond.
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