ryaningf wrote:humblebum wrote:ryaningf wrote:
Significant trade exemptions are helpful in acquiring high salaried vet-type players; i.e., the exact kind of player we don't need right now. Maybe you use it to absorb an overpaid player so you can extract another first round pick but once again this "asset" is less than what it appears.
Fact is, what we got for Rondo (a late first and a decent big) is exactly what we got for taking on Thornton's contract. That ain't enough IMO.
This move signals complete fire sale mode and tank life. I can imagine the poor offers we were getting for Bass, Green, Thornton, et al are only going to get worse. No leverage now, just sharks in the water.
Yup. The irony being we that we're too good to tank yet still 5+ years away from contending. Welcome to oblivion. Another mid-lotto pick, 2 late firsts, and irrelevance to look forward to in 2015.
So the same situation we were in yesterday, minus your favorite player, plus a couple more middling assets.
Also minus the possibility of contending sometime in the next 5 years, however small you think that chance might have been it's now reduced to ZERO. But, hey, draft picks and getting drunk on the potential of guys who are years away from being playoff caliber players.
Compare/contrast the Cs and Mavs. One team rewarded their franchise player (Dirk), one team shipped him off for parts after one bad year. One team maintained their contender status in the face of aging players and doing so put them in position to get Monta Ellis, Tyson Chandler, and Rajon Rondo for basically nothing. The other team loaded itself up on draft picks, young players, and a college coach and will have cap space this summer but no one of value who will want to play for them.
One team will be hoping on lottery luck to deliver them from the self-created situation while the other team will be in the playoffs with a chance for a ring. I know who I'd rather be, do you?
Dude, that team has Dirk Nowitski. I honestly hope we're not undertaking a comparison of Dirk with Rondo, are we? If we are talking about Pierce, OKAY, but I don't think many people were lambasting Ainge for that deal.
Rondo is replaceable. Sure he fits great in Dallas, but here he was slipping into irrelevancy. He was like a fancy toy with a broken piece. Looks nice and shiny but it doesn't work like it should.
The harsh reality is that a Rondo extension (if he even was interested in signing one) would've killed this team.
There was never even a chance. I think it's pretty fair to assume that now. Ainge and more importantly Wyc wouldn't have given up on Rondo if they felt there was ANY chance whatsoever.
Between the TPE and the impending cap space I think the Celtics have a BETTER chance of building a champion. No more trying to fit pieces around Rondo with his broke scoring game. Stevens can now build the roster in partnership with Ainge in a way that makes sense for his system.
It's possible that in a season or two that Smart will be a flat out better player than Rondo. So I just don't get this idea that somehow Rondo was the last hope. Come off that. Dude wasn't even the best player on this young team.
So ho hum. The rebuild continues and Rondo's departure will seem a distant memory before long. Good basketball will be played in basketball while Ainge puts all these assets and cap flexibility to work. People will actually want to play with a guy like Smart and under Stevens.
I wish the Mavs the best of luck and Rondo too. Never liked his game a ton but he did a lot for this organization and he really did do some amazing things on the court. I don't think the Mavs will sniff a ring but they'll be loads of fun to watch.
Good for them but Boston will be back on top sooner than most are assuming.
