Boston.com - Rondomania in overtime. Rajon Rondo had his second triple-double in three games, finishing with 18 points, 20 assists and a career-high 17 rebounds, the Celtics ruined Harvard grad Jeremy Lin’s return to Boston with a 115-111 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday. Rondo played a part in every Celtics point in overtime, collecting five points, five rebounds and two assists in the extra period. It was Rondo’s fourth triple-double this season and the 17th of his career. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last player to record a triple-double with at least 17 in each category was Magic Johnson, who had 24 points, 17 assists and 17 rebounds on April 18, 1989. The last player to exceed Rondo’s performance in each category was Wilt Chamberlain, who had 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists on Feb. 2, 1968.
This is the guy the Celts brain trust is threatening to trade everytime Danny Ainge has an irregular bowel movement. Perhaps the most unique player in the league today.
A guy that fills the stat sheet, free throw and outside side shooting aside. I mean, is that what he's being punished for? Because his jumpshot is a bit weak?
A guy that makes everyone else around him better. Yea never going to carry a team by himself night in, night out, but few players are, ask Paul Pierce how the first 2/3rds of his career worked out.
A guy who has never backed down from the big games, who relishes prime time match ups, and a guy who's level of play has risen each time the playoffs come around? Why? Because he's a bit moody, a bit pissed off when things aren't going well? God forbid a guy gives a shit and shows emotion when things aren't going quite right, or gets pissed off, rightly so, when a key member of the team's core is shipped out of town in a panic move that made zero basketball sense at the time and looks even worse now.
Or maybe he's always pissed off because since day one of the Big 3 era he's been questioned.
Could he handle running a team with 3 surefire HOF'ers? Yep. Didn't matter, he'd still be the subject of trade rumors.
Could he handle a full seasons load with nothing resembling a comptent backup? Yep. Didn't matter, he'd still be the subject of trade rumors.
Could he raise his game as the skills of the teams' aging stars declined? Yep. Doesn't matter, he's still the subject of trade rumors.
Fact is this team needs Rondo. Now and going forward. Mind you, I say this with in reason. No one is ever untouchable, and if some GM comes reaching out with (forgive my Simmons' speak) a "god father" offer, you take it. But what you don't do is dangle your teams precocious, and most irreplaceable star over and over again, and expect him to be cool with everything.
This is the guy you build around, this is the only guy you've got that you can build around. KG and Allen are done after this year, and a large part of me hopes both of them just ride off into the sunset. I'd take them back, but not for anything near what they're making now. The Celtics need that cash to start over and find the next wave of all-stars. KG, making $21 million this year, should be looking at a 50% pay cut for a two year extension. Allen, making $10 million, should prepare himself for something around $2-4 mill, tops. They're great complimentary players at this point in their careers, and capable of bringing it every few nights, but they're not winning any championships as a teams focal point.
That money Ray and KG been so accustomed to collecting will be much better served chasing Dwight Howard...and if you want any chance of landing Dwight, a player of Rondo's youth and skill level on the roster is a must, unless Dwight is looking up and down the Celts lineup without Rondo and salivating about how they're going to own the 40+ league over at Basketball City.
And in truth, Dwight, Rondo, and two years of Pierce guarantees Dwight as much of a chance as winning as any other destination does (assuming that is what he's interested in). And if Ray and KG come back for two years on the cheap, well now you're looking at the prohibitive favorites for '12'13, and '13-'14 seasons. Beyond 2014 you'll have two stars left, still very much in their prime, and BUCKETS of cash on hand. And you know who's available that year? Lebron James is (that really pains me, but there is no denying his talent). Dwayne Wade is. Chris Bosh is (gross, I know). Carmelo Anthony is. Blake Griffin is. That's a nice pool of stars, not to mention other young players that may develop and hit free agency by then.
Is it a bit of a pipe dream? Absolutely, but it's a winning pipe dream. And it's a much better plan than trading your most marketable free agent bait, watching your old timers flounder for a season or two more with no youth injection, and then spending the next decade languishing in the lottery hoping to get lucky and hit on one of the handful of players that come along every three or four years that change the path of your franchise. That idea sucks, and it's not what Boston Basketball should be about.
If there's a bottom line to this long and rambling Celtics post that started out as an ode to Rondo, it's this: Rondo is absolutely vital to the Celtics not sucking for years to come after this season. If we're not talking about an equally young, equally talented player, lets not talk at all. The road gets pretty murky for the Celts after this season but Rondo offers a chance to bridge today's success to tomorrow. I just hope Danny Ainge wakes up and sees that.
