DA is a genius by getting the big 3 and...

[rambo_ortega]

keeping rajon rondo

i mean, it could've been him in one of those trades in the start of last season to form the big3. telfair was playing decently and west has shown that he could start, plus they both experience already. so he could've been the one shipped to seattle for ray or to minny for kg. nevertheless, the decision of DA was to keep rondo and went with the sophomore instead of those two players aforementioned. He is now a top pg in the east. having the big 3 last year might have helped but he looks to be a steal for us and the key kept by DA for the big 3.

He made a difference in the game against utah and played well against deron. he is also shown confidence, like how he refused to give kg the ball and took it all the way to the hoop with a twisting lay-up on deron in the final minutes of the game.

The stats were awesome.

[Datruth345]

if i remember correctly, Mchale & Presti both really wanted Rondo
Ainge held out, and we were able to keep the little guy

Before all that, Ainge had Rondo in his Top 5 of the draft class, and watched as he slid under the radar, and basically bought him from the Suns

Ainge = the man
Rondo = amazing
Celtics >>> rest of the NBA

[Athanacropolis]

if i remember correctly, Mchale & Presti both really wanted Rondo
Ainge held out, and we were able to keep the little guy

Before all that, Ainge had Rondo in his Top 5 of the draft class, and watched as he slid under the radar, and basically bought him from the Suns

Ainge = the man
Rondo = amazing
Celtics >>> rest of the NBA

I like your math!

[Truthiracy]

Remember all the people pissed off that Boston didn't take Marcus Williams instead?

Go look at Williams' stats in Golden State for a good laugh

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

if i remember correctly, Mchale & Presti both really wanted Rondo
Ainge held out, and we were able to keep the little guy

Before all that, Ainge had Rondo in his Top 5 of the draft class, and watched as he slid under the radar, and basically bought him from the Suns

Ainge = the man
Rondo = amazing
Celtics >>> rest of the NBA

Yup. Ainge was trying to get Swift thrown into the deal for Ray, but Presti asked for Rondo. Ainge told them to keep Swift.

And apparently, Ainge would have walked away from the KG trade if McHale had stood his ground and asked for Rondo instead of Telfair.

And yeah, going back to that 2006 draft, when it looked like Ainge was going to draft Rondo at 7, everyone (including me!) thought he was crazy. Buying him from Phoenix was just pure genius. Bryan Colangelo from the Raptors was also working the phones that evening too, trying to buy a draft pick (he was going to draft Marcus Williams). Thank goodness he parted ways with the Suns on bad terms. Otherwise, we may not have had the ability to buy that pick and snag Rondo. The Spurs were also looking to acquire him with their pick.

The funniest part about that evening was when Colangelo called from the war room, trying to pry information out of Ainge as to why he didn't draft Marcus Williams at 7, opting to trade for Telfair instead. Ainge didn't give him any information thankfully.

[Prophet_C]

Remember all the people pissed off that Boston didn't take Marcus Williams instead?

Go look at Williams' stats in Golden State for a good laugh

Yep. I was laughing earlier today about him already being on the outs in GS.

[campybatman]

keeping rajon rondo

i mean, it could've been him in one of those trades in the start of last season to form the big3.

Not really, as Ainge was clear to Seattle that Rondo isn't being offered. So, Seattle agreed to take West instead. I believe I'd read that Ainge attempted to expand on the trade by asking for Swift and Seattle wouldn't include him unless Rondo was too.

Edit: Here's an excerpt...

The proposal being negotiated by Seattle and Boston would send Allen to the Celtics for a package including the No. 5 pick, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West. The last I heard was that Seattle was having second thoughts about the deal: The sticking point was that the Sonics wanted second-year point guard Rajon Rondo instead of West, which led Boston VP Danny Ainge to demand that Seattle also include center Robert Swift in the trade. But Seattle was unwilling to include Swift.

Just before the draft, however, the two sides began talking in a last-ditch attempt to make the trade work.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/w ... index.html

[campybatman]

Remember all the people pissed off that Boston didn't take Marcus Williams instead?

Whether or not you would believe me doesn't matter. But, I remember that ESPN did a fan fill-in mock draft or some sort where online fans could slot the draft candidates of who you thought your team and/or other teams would select. And I actually had Boston selecting Rondo with their seventh pick. Because of all the positive reviews I'd read about his pre-draft workouts for Boston and Ainge's interest in him.

I do recall a lot of Boston fans preferred the choice of Marcus Williams. Especially, after seeing him play fairly well in place of Kidd at times as a rookie. If not him, Sergio Rodriguez was another semi-popular choice that Boston fans talked somewhat about.

[chakdaddy]

Before all that, Ainge had Rondo in his Top 5 of the draft class, and watched as he slid under the radar, and basically bought him from the Suns

We didn't buy him from the Suns by any stretch of the imagination, unless you imagine that we sold a draft pick that became Rudy Fernandez to Portland and then used that money to buy the pick that became Rondo...

It was a joke that Phoenix was selling off picks every year but made us actually trade them a draft pick that they didn't even want to keep.

But, like the Telfair deal, all's well that ends well! But it doesn't mean we should engage in revisionist history.

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

Before all that, Ainge had Rondo in his Top 5 of the draft class, and watched as he slid under the radar, and basically bought him from the Suns

We didn't buy him from the Suns by any stretch of the imagination, unless you imagine that we sold a draft pick that became Rudy Fernandez to Portland and then used that money to buy the pick that became Rondo...

I/quote]

Nice. I totally forgot they traded a pick to get Rondo. My bad. I think the funniest part of that offseason was how Phoenix ended up with Banks.

[Datruth345]

didn't we trade the suns cash in exchange for Rondo?

EDIT: ahhh yes, the old Cleveland pick from the Jiri Welsch trade
what a tangled web Danny has woven, excuse my misinformation