What's the most in a new salary Rondo can command?

[campybatman]

That is to say, what's the most in salary could his agent ask for his client?

The one quote of Rondo that sticks out is his desire to remain a teammate to Pierce, Garnett and Ray Allen. However, what's Ray's immediate future? Because Paul and Kevin will still be under contract for at least one more season when Rondo's contract is up. Still, doesn't Pierce have a player option in the last year, I thought?



General manager Danny Ainge said yesterday that the $2.09 million team option on Rondo for the 2009-10 season will be exercised before this season.

Rondo and his agent, Bill Duffy, said they are happy about the decision and they are hoping to ink a long-term deal next summer.

"He's made great progress," said Ainge. "He's a strong point guard on a championship team. He's come a long way. He has sort of a love for the game of basketball."

"It makes me feel good, they still want me," said the 22-year-old Rondo, who averaged 10.6 points, 5.1 assists, and 1.7 steals in 29.9 minutes per game last season. "It feels good to know that someone still wants you."

Rondo will be eligible for a lucrative long-term deal next summer that would begin with the 2010-11 season. Signing him next summer as opposed to when he is a restricted free agent during the hot 2010 market will have salary cap implications for Boston. Duffy plans to push hard for a long-term deal; Ainge does not comment on free agent issues.

"I love playing with my teammates here," Rondo said. "I love the organization. It's a great organization and great to be a part of the Celtic tradition, the history. I definitely don't want to leave anything on the table.

"We have the Big Three here and I want to milk them as much as possible. I want to be around when they're here and when they're gone."

Said Duffy, "We think he is one of the centerpieces of the organization. I'm sure they want him there. [A long-term deal] would be [Rondo's] preference. He's interested in remaining a part of that nucleus that is trying to win championships."

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball ... ltics+news

[greenbeans]

I dunno what the max is but somewhere between 20-25mil i think. and i know max length is 6 years if its with the current team you're on or 5 if you're new to the team.
I would be thrilled with a 5/60 deal.

[campybatman]

Unless Ainge is intent on targeting a significant free agent in two years when LeBron and company hit the open market. I believe Rondo will get what he and agent are seeking in a new deal. Because Rondo will likely become this team's star once Pierce and Garnett are gone. Ray Allen could be gone before those two which make this all the more interesting from now to next summer.

[greenbeans]

My hope is that Ainge uses Ray as an expiring to net another star. Maybe even as early as next summer if some of the FAs aren't getting the offers they're hoping for. He could be a placeholder for a team like Miami with Marion, though he's not the guy I'd advocate going after, WAY too old to throw a long-term contract at, but you get the idea.
Danny won't build this team post-big3 solely around Rajon imo, he'll just be a key cog in the machine.

[campybatman]

I meant in the sense that Rondo's a veteran among the young players on the team. Therefore, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to call this his team when all three All-Stars are gone. He's certainly the most talented. O'Bryant could be second on that list if he realizes his potential and hits his ceiling after next season. The other young players on Boston's roster (Powe, Perkins, Davis, Tony Allen and Pruitt) I see more as role players in the league that could produce more with starter's minutes. Walker and Giddens remain as unknowns.

Still, none of this probably matters if Ainge uses enough of these young players to acquire another All-Star player in his prime. If that's the case, I see O'Bryant and Powe as the first young players to be packaged.

However, I see it as a trade to get younger but replace Ray in the process with a veteran player. For this reason, he doesn't have to be an All-Star player. You still have Pierce and Garnett. He might be a second tier player who's younger than Ray but good enough as a player in his career that the lost of Ray doesn't create a drop-off on the team at his position.

[greenbeans]

Oh yeah, Rondo will be Mr. Celtic in a couple of years.
As for the potential trades, how about Melo? He's almost destined for the Pierce/Garnett pre-07 life of suck as long as he's in Denver. He for some reason decided to forego the opt-out route so he's on the books until 2011(?) at the earliest.

[Havlicek17]

I agree with most if not all of the comments so far, except I would only trade Ray Allen if we get a tier 1 palyer in return.

If he stays healthy, and there is no reason to believe otherwise, I think Ray is going to light it up this year. He played well for us last year, but of the big three, I think he had the most difficulty adjusting. When he went through those tough dry spells early in the playoffs, it was clear that he and the teams offense were out of sync. Ray is still a tier 1 player and the reports of his death are premature. The guy can play. Don't forget he was right there with Labron James for MVP of the all star game and similarly with Paul in the finals.

If Ray goes, a tier 1 player needs to be coming to Boston in the deal. KG and PP are on a short fuse, and need to win now.

Rondo is here to stay. He will likely command a $8 to $10 Mil salary to start his new contract year. Ray's expiring helps a great deal because his $18.8 Mil would likely drop on a new deal and could be in the $10 to $12 Mil range. (KG's new deal starts at $16 Mil, but Ray will be 35 and didn't make the kind of money that KG did to start with) The timing of the two contracts makes keeping the 5 starters in place for another few years affordable.

Let's package Scal's expiring and someone other than Ray for that tier 2 guy.

[SonicYouth34]

Rondo will get a Devin Harris like contract IMO, unless he has a monster year next year.

[campybatman]

I agree that a first tier talent makes sense if you're to lose a first tier talent in Ray Allen. However, you're going to need to pay this first tier player a max salary to keep him beyond if the belief is that he and Rondo are the building pieces toward establishing your next wave of stars to replace your current two All-Stars (hypothetically speaking, if you minus Ray). That's a tough feat to pull-off. Ainge knows this too well. On the contrary, my logic is to pursue a second tier player who'll command perhaps less than a max salary and develop him further into a legitimate starter. However, I feel as if the consensus is that if Ray is traded after this season (his last year). Then it should be for a player of near equal value. The problem I see with that is Ray's an older player now who is the third option on a winning team. How much has his value around the league diminished somewhat while being a Celtic? Remember, it took the injury of Butler for him to be named an replacement to the eastern conference All-Star team this season. Whether or not he'd deserved the nod in general is debatable. I personally feel he would've made the squad outright if you consider his team's record in the standings by the mid point of the regular season.

I would be find with Boston acquiring fair value for Ray in the form of a pairing of young and up-and-coming players or a future first round pick which you won't likely get unless from a contending team one or two veteran players away from seriously contending for a NBA championship.

So, I say one way to look at Ray's possible trading... Promote Rondo as the new member of the triad and be satisfied with whatever you can still get for an aging All-Star. I'm a Ray Allen fan but I think you're better off attempting to sign a top tier free agent than acquiring in a trade a first tier player under contract for Ray. Either route will be hard so expectations must be tempered.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/stor ... ents-09-10

[Celtsfan1980]

Oh yeah, Rondo will be Mr. Celtic in a couple of years.
As for the potential trades, how about Melo? He's almost destined for the Pierce/Garnett pre-07 life of suck as long as he's in Denver. He for some reason decided to forego the opt-out route so he's on the books until 2011(?) at the earliest.

Anthony could definitely be one of the choices, but do you think he has what it takes to ever become a good defender? On a defensive-oriented team, it is important.

[bawstin]

Rondo is great, but he's not going to be as good as the big three. If he's the primary star of the post big-three celtics it's not going to be pretty.

$8m/year is my out-of-my-a$$ number without looking at any comparables.

[Mahoney_jr]

Tony Parker's contract.

[sully00]

What Rondo is looking for is going to impact when he signs.

PG's on the whole are overpaid but very few can push the needle passed 11-12 mil a season. I think that if Rondo was talking about 7.5 mil per year or less then he could get an extension done next season, that is what Jameer Nelson got from ORL for 5 seasons.

Anymore than that then the C's have little motivation to do anything because they essentially have him under control for two more seasons. Another issue with Rondo is that he is a pg with a unique skill set, while attractive and a great fit with this team he isn't for everyone. There are only 30 starting pg jobs so to go out on the market and get a deal as a restricted FA he would need a team with capspace, that needs a pg, and one with his skillset, and then is willing to have their money tied up and deal with Boston likely matching.

I think Boston will try to explain the situation to him and make it clear they will take care of him but he may have to wait it out quite a bit. The other option is that he take a deal that starts at the same value as a his cap hold for 09-10 which is going to be about 5.2 mil and if he takes that out 5 years he is looking at 35 mil. That is probably a little light and it would have to be an full MLE deal and even then he would have to want to be here.

[Hemingway]

another option in trading Ray: Trade for a guy on a max or near max that is clearly over paid AND and a prospect. Hopefully then Ainge will see the prospect, a pick or someone still on a rookie contract and know they will be great. You can probably still get something out of the big contract. Just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about say the trade is with NY for Randolf and a pick lets say its number 7 buy Ainge sees the guy he wants there. You can pick someone and put them behind PP or KG to learn the ropes, still get some production out of Randolf (or whoever it is) and still be able to flip Randolf (again whoever) when their contract is expiring.

Basically, to be able to keep PP and KG until they retire we can not let Allen's contract expire.

[sully00]

The problem with that Hemingway is that you are spending a ton more money and making yourself a worse team. Ray Allen is still a good player and you are taking about trading for Randolph and playing him off the bench for additional year at 18 mil and adding a top half lottery pick who is going to be raking in 3 mil and you are a worse team.

The one thing that will certainly kill any chance at a quick rebuild or reload is aquiring a tainted asset like Randolph. I would look at what Utah did as a better plan if reload doesn't work. Keep the books neat and take the hit for a season and then you have the lottery pick and the cap space and get to work.

Either way I don't think barring a collapse this team will look to move Ray Allen.

[campybatman]

Perhaps, Ainge could target a player or two in 2009 as oppose to 2010. If the point is to help prolong the careers of Pierce and Garnett, then the choice is a young talent like Jamal Crawford for example. If the idea is to maintain a consistent third option as you've in Ray Allen. The ideal choice is Richard Hamilton. The latter choice will depend on the player and if he prefers to remain where he is. I know his name came up in at least one trade rumor this year.


2009 UFAs

Veteran to replace Ray Allen - Richard Hamilton (Early Termination Option)
A still young and up-and-coming player to replace Ray Allen - Jamal Crawford (Early Termination Option)
An equally as old veteran player but maybe a cheaper alternative to replace Ray Allen - Anthony Parker

Another still young player to add to the core - Al Harrington (Player Option)

[Mahoney_jr]

Ray has three more high quality years in him (his body frame ages very well, I'm sure) and he will always be better than Jamal Crawford or Al Harrington (both are 6th men and will be 30 then, too). I wouldn't like to trade him, because I think we can extend him to a reasonable price.

[GregB]

If Rondo plays like he did last year. He could prob get 7-10 million per year from us. If he takes his game to another level. It could be 10 million and up per year.

[campybatman]

One way to improve his stock, Rondo must show that he no longer will be a liability with the ball when on offense. That is, I read a good point about the opposing defense becoming five on four knowing that Rondo's man can readily gamble away from him. Here's where his shooting proficiency and range comes into play. I think he could balance out his lay-ups and perimeter shots equally. But, he should get into the habit of attempting more outside shots. I don't know whether or not Rondo's simply not given the green light to shoot the ball if a shot's there or is it he himself that refrains from attempting them.

The one thing I'm thinking about is: Will Boston get into a situation where Rondo and agent establish leverage in that who does Boston have to replace him should he get a better offer elsewhere? I mean Pruitt could be traded, House can opt out after next season and Cassell will likely be an assistant coach for Boston rather than a player next season. Plus, Ainge doesn't have a first round pick next year. Too early to imply that he's good as gone. Still, right now, Rondo has the leverage in my opinion in future negotiations. And he will be motivated to perform even better next season if he can avoid a serious injury.

[JMillott]

I think something in the range of a five year $40-$45 million dollar extention should work reasonably well for both sides.