MagicFan41 wrote:Monta, Rose, Westbrook, Wade, Wall....these are guys whose abilities largely rely on their "speed and athleticism". Rondo does not. I would hardly call him super-"athletic". One of the many reasons he was drafted as low as he was. His "speed" helps a bit defensively but he is hardly a player who makes a living mostly on beating his defender off the dribble because of his explosiveness. What player are you watching? He is long for a PG, which makes him a good defender, and he has amazing court vision. He runs a half court offense probably better than anybody other than Nash in his prime. All of these things (length, height, court vision, b-ball IQ) aren't going away because of an ACL injury. Same reasons that Nash has been so productive up until almost the age of 40.
I'm watching a player who relies heavily on the transition game for his offense, both for scoring and passing. you want to tell me the transition doesn't rely on speed and athleticism? yes, Rondo will be able to play and compete even with a loss of speed, but who's to say if he'll be able to compete at the same level? what if he's lost a step on the break, so defenses catch him sooner? what if he's lost a step on the dribble? Rondo may get a lot of screens, but if you're unable to have the speed to get separation then those screens are useless. At this point, you can't
guarantee how Rondo will return. how do you justify $25M of expenses on him then?
Your argument about how many people have traded for stars who just had an ACL tear is pretty weak. That sample size can't be very big. How many players who were one of the top 2-3 at their position in the league have had ACL tears? How many of those have been involved in trade rumors before that injury, haven't gotten along with the brass/teammates? How many were also teamed with a bunch of vets at the end of their careers with the team looking to possibly start anew? All of these factors make this a relatively unique situation. The sample size is minute when you pull all these factors together.
You say it's a small sample size, but it's really not. There are plenty of great players who have been injured but not traded. Why is that? Let's look at some of the potential candidates you've got to work with:
Rondo, Rose, Roy, Paul, Wade, Eric Gordon, Monta, B.Davis, Bynum, Lopez, Horford, Yao, Brand, Amare, Tony Parker, Arenas, Carter, McDyess, Hardaway and so on, and so on.
Whether it's an ACL injury doesn't matter. The fact is that NBA teams are reluctant to make a move for a player who is injured and still owed big money. Reluctant enough that they wouldn't offer a good enough deal to make it happen. And don't try and say "no other team has been in the position of needing to trade that player". Any team would make a deal if it meant it would improve their team and they'd come out on top.
Is it a risk? Of course. Risks get taken all the time in the NBA, in sports, in life. Just look at Bynum last year, at Dwight after his back surgery, us signing Grant Hill, etc etc etc. Your comment that "no team" would trade for Rondo is asinine. Look at teams like the Lakers, Hawks, etc who might lose their stars to free agency for nothing. Might it be worth the risk to them to get Rondo in a trade in case, which is quite likely, that he returns to normal form? Sure it might. Then again, the majority of comments you've made on this board I've thought the same thing about.
If your problem is how absolute I was by saying "no team", then you've got to let it go. I'll say "no team" because in general, given all the injured players who have had major injuries and not been traded, it doesn't happen.
But hey, you come and find me once a team trades for Rondo by the deadline. And if he's still in Boston green, then I'm sure you'll find a way to ignore it.
