Rajon Rondo isn’t going anywhere.
Don’t pay attention to the trade rumors that have Rondo headed to Memphis for the No. 2 overall pick or leaving town in a deal that would bring aging point guard Steve Nash to Boston, either.
It’s not going to happen.
The Celtics still have a window to win another championship -- and the chances will dramatically decrease with a new point guard in the mix.
It’s not that Rondo is untradeable, because for the right price, Celtics boss Danny Ainge would pull the trigger.
But Ainge knows better than anyone that this is hardly the draft to mortgage a key piece -- and the C’s aren’t going to acquire Chris Paul, Deron Williams or Derrick Rose via trade.
The draft is weak.
No, it’s downright abysmal.
No one -- except for future Los Angeles Clipper Blake Griffin -- is going to be an instant franchise-changer.
This is about as listless a draft as we’ve seen in the past decade or so.
Ainge does like Arizona State’s James Harden, Memphis’ Tyreke Evans, UConn 7-footer Hasheem Thabeet and even Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio.
But not enough to deal Rondo.
Rondo won’t ever be Paul or maybe even Williams, but he has established himself as one of the upper-echelon young floor leaders in the game.
Sure, he has his faults (he still can’t consistently make perimeter jumpers). However, he’s the ideal fit on this Celtics team, one with three bona-fide stars.
Without Rondo, there’s no way that the C’s would have gotten out of the first round of the playoffs against the Chicago Bulls.
Ainge has never been afraid to wheel and deal -- and that hasn’t changed.
But the problem is that he doesn’t have a whole lot to sell these days. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are nearly untouchable while Ray Allen has one more year left on his deal at nearly $20 million.
Kendrick Perkins’ value won’t climb any higher, but the problem becomes what you do in the middle without Perk. There’s a reason why Perkins is considered a serviceable big man in the league.
There just aren’t many big guys who can play these days.
The carrots that Ainge will attempt to dangle will be the expiring contracts of guys like Brian Scalabrine ($3.4 million), Tony Allen ($2.5 million) and possibly Eddie House ($2.8 million) -- if House elects to utilize his player-option for this coming season.
That’s not all that enticing to opposing GM’s.
The more likely scenario has the Celtics trying to re-sign Glen “Big Baby” Davis and pick up a free agent or two that can help off the bench.
Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Rondo and Perkins will match-up with any starting unit in the league and Davis has now become a quality big man off the bench. The key will be to add one more frontcourt player and also a backup point guard.
“We like our team,” Ainge told me over the weekend. “We just need to make a tweak here and there, but we don’t need to make wholesale changes.”
There are plenty of guys out there that can help fill a role on a championship team -- and that’s really all this team is lacking.
They won’t have the money to be able to add a Hedo Turkoglu or a Ron Artest, but could Ainge make a run at a Drew Gooden, Chris Wilcox, Rasheed Wallace or someone that could actually help Perkins down low.
They also need someone to fill Stephon Marbury’s role as a competent backup floor leader when Rondo isn’t on the floor.
The bottom line is that there’s no need to panic. If Garnett had been healthy, the world wouldn’t be putting Kobe in the same breathe as M.J.
He’d a two-time runner-up.
Rondo has been the starting point guard on a team that has won 128 games over the past two seasons. He’s played in four Game 7’s and 40 playoff games -- and he’s only 23 years old.
I love Steve Nash as much as anyone else, but he’s not the same player he was when he won a pair of NBA MVP awards.
He’s a dozen years older than Rondo -- and a valid argument can be made that Rondo is the more effective player right now, anyway.
Just sit tight, Danny. Don’t mortgage a piece of the future.
Not on this draft. It’s not worth it.
10 FREE AGENTS THAT SHOULD BE ON BOSTON’S RADAR
Drew Gooden, San Antonio: His facial hair may be annoying, but he nearly averaged a double-double this past season.
Chris Wilcox, New York:
Rasheed Wallace, Detroit: He’d be ideal as a guy coming off the bench.
Martin Gortat, Orlando: He and Perk would form a potent duo in the paint.
Anderson Varejao, Cleveland: Boston fans would like him if he were wearing green.
Linas Kleiza, Denver: Another guy who could strengthen the bench with his ability to score.
Chris Anderson, Denver: The Birdman would bring energy and an active body up front.
Raymond Felton, Charlotte: I’ve got to assume a young point guard like Felton wouldn’t want to come to Boston for a reserve role.
Antonio McDyess, Detroit: He chose the Pistons a year ago, so it’s doubtful
Jason Kidd, Dallas: Would he come to Boston for a big-time discount to win a title?
Jeff Goodman is a senior basketball writer for FOXSports.com. He can be reached at goodmanonfox@aol.com.
The NFL Sunday gang wraps up the season predicting the score of Super Bowl 46...and they don't think it's going to be as close as most people do. Go Pats!
NFL Sunday rolls on with Dale, Fauria and Price talking about the emotional roller coaster the Pats and more specifically team owner Robert Kraft have been on this season. With the passing of his wife Myra, this goal to become champs has taken on a whole new meaning.
The NFL Sunday crew talks about the cocky and brash chatter coming from some of the Giants the last couple weeks. Dale is surprised that Tom Coughlin allowed most of it to go down and says Belichick would never let that fly. The guys also touch on the little mistake the Giants team website made yesterday in putting up the "Giants are Super Bowl Champions" homepage yesterday - that's a no-no!
JaJuan Johnson spoke with Grande & Max after the Celtics beat the Bulls today at the Garden.
Sean Grande & Cedric Maxwell sat down with ESPN's Doris Burke during halftime of Celtics/Bulls
Doc Rivers & Sean Grande preview Celtics-Bulls today at the Garden. Tune in to Celtics Today at 3:00p to hear the full interview
Dustin tells us you can't hustle a hustler, and other funny anecdotes.
The Sox GM joined Glenn and Michael to talk Scutaro, Punto, Oswalt, Luxury Tax and all things off-season.
Dustin Pedroia joined the Big Show for his weekly segment, and talked about losing Scutaro, gaining Cody Ross and Nick Punto, and then got a surprise from his best friend.
Brad Marchand joins the show and talks about if Tim Thomas is a distraction to the team and why the Bruins have been struggling as of late.
Andrew joins D&C to discuss how he feels about Tim Thomas' political views and how Patrice Bergeron has been the MVP for the team so far this season. Andrew also talks about how they have to regroup and make adjustments to get out this funk the team is currently in.
Brad Marchand joins the show to talk about President Obama calling him out on stage and Tim Thomas skipping the White House visit.
Meter talks about the Celtics 88-87 OT loss to the Lakers last night, Kobe Bryant trying to recruit Rob Gronkowski to the Eagles, and Samantha DeFlaco who went to the Giants Super Bowl parade looking for Jets QB Mark Sanchez.
Andrew joins D&C to discuss how he feels about Tim Thomas' political views and how Patrice Bergeron has been the MVP for the team so far this season. Andrew also talks about how they have to regroup and make adjustments to get out this funk the team is currently in.
Tim Thomas is once again in the news for posting his political views on facebook but refuses to talk to the media about it. Is this situation becoming more than a distraction to the team especially with their recent play? D&C react.
Brad Marchand joins the show and talks about if Tim Thomas is a distraction to the team and why the Bruins have been struggling as of late.
Jackie Mac makes her weekly appearance and talks about the Celtics loss to the Lakers, the team's future, and what will happen with Paul Pierce.
In an ugly game, the Celtics lost to the Lakers in OT. Have we seen the last of the current Lakers Celtics rivalry?
We play the soundbite from the NFL Network from Super Bowl 46 where Bill Belichick is telling his defense 'this is still a Cruz and Nicks game'. The Patriots of course were then burned by Mario Manningham on the Giants game-winning drive. We discuss whether it was the right decision or not.
Glenn and Michael debate what, if anything, Shaq is bringing to the table for TNT's NBA pre and postgame coverage.
We talk about Tim Thomas refusing to speak to reporters about his political ramblings on Facebook, and about whether or not this is a media driven controversy, or a genuine distraction for Thomas' Bruins teammates.
The discussion of the Patriots loss in the Super Bowl and just like any other loss, the coaching is called into question and whether a defensive coordinator on staff would have helped Bill Belichick and the Patriots.
Mikey has made no bones about his feelings on Pau Gasol, what will he do if the Celtics trade Rondo for Gasol? Also our buddy LB calls in to talk about the Patriots Super Bowl loss.
Mikey talks to some Patriots fans who are still looking at the loss and breaking down what went wrong but are also looking to the future for the franchise.
Losing the Super Bowl? Terrrrrrrrrrrrrrible.
This week's whine of the week winner. If you are our winner please send an email with which whine you left and all of your information to whineoftheweek@weei.com
Live from Hurricane's... not Cocaine's which is where Oil Can Boyd wanted to be broadcasting from. Plus the Cranky Yankee Bitch reaches her tipping point.
Our friend from Pittsburgh, Mark Madden, joins D&C to give his take on the Joe Paterno/Penn State scandal and says Jerry Sandusky may have been 'Pimping Out Young Boys to Rich Donors.'
More from this showGlenn and Michael debate what, if anything, Shaq is bringing to the table for TNT's NBA pre and postgame coverage.
More from this showDustin joined Glenn and Michael on the Big Show, and they asked him if they could take a call. Dustin agreed, and the caller then went on to rip the crap out of him. What Dustin didn't know is that the caller was one of his best friends... Andre Ethier from the Dodgers.
More from this showD&C receive a second call from Joe in Nashville voicing his frustration over the Pats not bringing back Randy Moss during last offseason.
More from this showTim Thomas continued to vent his feelings on politics on Facebook this week, but refused to discuss it when asked in the locker room. Craig and Larry talk about the posting itself and if Timmay may be a distraction now for the slumping B's.
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