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Top Trade Target – Rajon Rondo
Posted by: Jared Jardine on January 22nd, 2013
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.In my view, the Jazz are an All-Star PG away from being a contender, and I want to see them target Rondo. He is consistently the best facilitator in the NBA, and the only active NBA player with even a chance of threatening John Stockton’s assist record. Rondo has a bit of an attitude, but in my opinion, the Jazz need a strong personality with championship experience to be the leader on this team. People talk about him not wanting to play here, but in my view, the only difficulty is in getting the players to come. Once they are here, they like it. This is why I think it would be a much smarter move for the Jazz front office to trade for a top caliber player like Rondo who has several years left on his deal. He doesn’t get a say in it, and once he is here, and being successful, he will like being here.
Millsap & Mo Williams for Rondo and Brandon Bass
This trade gets us an All-Star Starting Point Guard for several years (IMHO Rondo is the best PG in the game) who is a facilitator, which is exactly what Favors and Kanter need to reach their potential. It also gets us a solid backup PF in Bass. It takes back 3 years worth of contracts on both players. It gives Boston a scoring Big to accompany Garnett in the paint with Millsap and a scoring PG in Mo Williams that can give their lack-luster offense a bit of juice, but even better than that, they are both in the final year of their deals, so they can get the financial flexibility they will need if they are truly ready to break up their team. In my view, the only trades that ever happen in the NBA are those that benefit both teams, and I think that this one fits.
Replies: 27
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27 Responses
I think my favorite thing about Rondo is how mentally explosive he is. Who doesn’t want a leader that cannot control his anger? I know I want a guy on the team who starts fights for no reason and gets suspended multiple times a season because he can’t think.
Even though he is a little unstable I would take him in heartbeat. Kid is top 5 point guard! Im sick of Jazz fan’s “Character guys” and “Hustle guys”. Oh yeah I’ll take talent. Mediocre is getting old! Other pgs I desperately want are Vasquez, Walker, Calderon, Lowry, Bledsoe and Wall. Any of these guys would make me do back flips. I would only hope that we could keep Mo somehow and get rid of the garbage at back up pg. That probably means Toronto is best partner for that since they already have a starter either way.
I agree with Kevin. We need more loose cannons on this team. Can we also please get DeDorkus Cousins? And man, we let Birdman slip through our fingers to the Miami Heat. Maybe if his 10-day doesn’t work out, we can pick him up. Delonte is still available too. Maybe work out a trade for Ron Artest Peace too.
Lol, but seriously. We have 0 crazies on our team right now, and we’re allowed ONE. And considering his talent, and that his craziness is game-related and at least to my view, driven by a desire to win, I would take Rondo. Dude played after dislocating his elbow! Thing is, Boston isn’t going to want our old veterans, they’ll want our young guys and the whole point is getting a PG to grow with our young guys and Boston isn’t ready (will they ever be?) to blow things up. Millsap, Mo, future picks, Alec Burks and I’m still not sure that’s enough for Boston. We’d have to take back some of their bad salaries to match up money in the trade as well. A trade like that though, puts us in viable contention IMO.
Something like this:
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine
But we’d have to include some picks I think.
Doh…this:
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=awhewzg
The Jazz would NEVER go for a guy like Rondo, and Rondo would never agree to play here. The Jazz are all about chemistry, teamwork, and respect. Rondo doesn’t have any of these features.
That doesn’t mean he’s not the best distributor in the NBA however, and a top 5 point guard. Just couldn’t mesh in Utah.
It’s not that it’s always 100% all about character, but Rondo is just too insane. Also, Rondo is an incredible talent, but he is a pass first PG. We have a pass first PG in Tinsley and although Rondo is OBVIOUSLY better, I would rather a guy like Lillard who can create his shot and score at will, as well as pass. I know Lillard isn’t available, but Calderon is a decent second choice if you want a guy who can make a basket AND pass.
I just don’t understand the Jazz fan fixation with Rondo. The guy is a freaking tool and although some say they would take wins, I kinda like the idea of having good guys on the team who aren’t complete a$$es. I want to be happy for my team’s success, instead of feeling guilty that a group of thugs are succeeding because of their filthy play.
Oh come on. You love that feeling you get when filthy thugs succeed.
I think the whole takeaway from this is that PG pickings are pretty slim. There’s a lot of guys I’d take over Rondo, but from a point of view of ‘potentially obtainable’ guys without having to give away our future, that could put our team into contention, Rondo is near the top of that list. And honestly, I’m pretty doubtful he’s even obtainable. Calderon or Lowry (who has his own attitude and teamwork issues) are next on that list of established players. Calderon is basically Tinsley with the ability to score, but costs $8M more a year. That’s expensive. So the point is, and I’ve said this since D-Will left, is that PG options are just not there. Even the last 2-3 draft classes have been very PG-poor. So yeah, even though I totally agree with you on the Rondo attitude issues, if we got him, we would be a better team, more talented, and Rondo would be a good on-court fit with our young guys. Rondo helps his team win, in contrast to some of the other crazies around the league. And the main reason I’m a proponent is that I’m not sure there’s any other realistic PG options out there that would. My next option would be to trade for a young guy that could grow into a great PG. Kemba, Wall, Bledsoe all fit that bill for me.
Ya I think Rondo is too insane also. I think the Jazz could turn someone like Tyreke Evans or John Wall into a team-first, high character fellow, but not Rondo.
@kevin-Rondo is insane? That is a little extreme! A little hot headed and Competitive I agree. Im glad your conscience is clear though. I would hate to to feel guilty and have championships like Boston does. @Nick I agree that he would not want to play here and the trade is unlikely, but you dont know if he wouldnt “mesh” well. Better talent hear! Better future! His skills wont just fade away when he come to Utah.(unless Corbins F’s it up somehow lol). I hate/love the Jazz fans that will follow Utah no matter how mediocre the team is. I wish there was an All Saints team but there isn’t. We need his level in talent in Utah.
@Derek
It’s not extreme to call someone insane when they freak out in a team meeting and throw a tv remote through a tv screen. Sorry, but if someone did that around me I probably wouldn’t go over and give them a hug. Nice job calling that “competetive” though. So was he trying to defeat the tv in a staring contest and couldn’t handle the loss?
Also, please join us on earth as soon as you’re finished in space if you think Rondo will automatically turn us into championship contenders. Send me a postcard from whatever planet you live on.
Rondo will not come to play in Utah
If he is traded he won’t have much choice. Players don’t choose their trades. Its only free agent players that have a choice over their destination. The fact is though I don’t see Rondo coming to Utah because the trade won’t happen.
When Rondo will goes to Utah…. Ill become a marine.
Actually Steven, I WISH players didn’t have a say in where they get traded. But you are remembering the glory days of this league. In today’s NBA, a lot of the players DO get to choose. Melo, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul (LA destination), that’s just a few.
@Kevin, you’re right, in a way they do. However, when a team gets a trade they like, the player may be left out to dry whether he wants to go to that team or not. However, the bad part about that is the player will not resign or perform well during his time on the team.
yeah, i’d hate the Jazz to get a player who cares about winning and won’t take crap from the opposition. (i hope the sarcasm dripped through). Rondo would put the Jazz in the top three in the west and teach the young blokes how to win. And he’s cheap for that quality of player
Rondo is an immense talent, I actually think he is the second best PG in the league behind CP3… He is explosive and firey, but in the same way that George Brett and Ray Lewis, championship crazy. I would love to have Rondo but I don’t think the C’s would trade him for so little… but I would happily give up Jefferson and Millsap and our pick and the GS pick, Mo, Foye and Marvin and make it a 4 team trade to get him.
kind of like DWill wanted to go to NJ,,, oh wait I thought he wanted to be in Dallas? Thing is if you get a talented player like rondo bringing in other all stars or resigning your own is that much easier. And with all the cap space jazz are going to have they need a multi year contract from someone like rondo.
But somehow Corbin would fudge it all up. Go Corbin.
@ kevin- Ok Nostradamus since you know who is going to automatically make us a contender fill us in? Or better yet head to Vegas and place your bets! Oh Wait…your morals might get in the way. If I need hug I’ll hit you up!@disco@jazzdependency@noneyadb come down from outer space man! You guys are crazy!lol
Actually Derek, please show me where I claimed to know what we needed to contend. All I said, was Rondo wasn’t ALL we needed. Pretty sure most fans would agree that it would take more than a pass first PG to get us into title contention.
It’s cool that you replace logic with sarcasm but I would be interested to see if your simple brain can create an actual explanation of how Rondo instantly makes us contenders like you think he does. Go ahead, I challenge you to set aside your a$$ personality for a second and try to be logical. I only ask this for one post and then you can return to your usual ridiculous self.
In my opinion (since you asked), We need a PG who can not only pass like Rondo, but score like Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, or Chris Paul. Tinsley is a pass first PG like I already stated, and although he isn’t the caliber of Rondo, he still is a pass first PG and he gets his assists. However, he doesn’t make us a contender. When you only have a pass first PG, you need a scorer like Paul Pierce or last year with Ray Allen in order to be successful. Even KG is pretty lethal from about 15-17 feet. No one on the Jazz is consistent enough to be what we’d need alongside Rondo. However, if we got a PG in here who was more of an all around creator, he could take some of the scoring load off our “shooters”.
It’s great that you think a one-dimensional player will make us contend, because that means you have high opinions of the Jazz. I love the team too, but I know enough about basketball that I also know we need either 2 more pieces now, or we need one good piece that will stick around while we wait for Burks and Hayward to be the consistent scorers that we will need.
I sent this message via FedEx to the moon so hopefully you’ll get it soon.
I wouldn’t be disappointed to see Rondo being traded here. However let me clarify before I goon that I don’t see it happening, certainly not this trade period. Boston don’t want the players that we would be willing to give up, and the Jazz show no sign in wanting to trade the players that other teams would be interested in. But lets say for arguments sake Boston said enough is enough let’s blow up the roster and start over and the Jazz made that trade.
What would the Jazz be getting? They would be getting a pass first point guard. Hayward, Favors, Kanter, Burks, Marvin and Foye are all going to get chances. We know what Hayward and Foye can do with good looks. Favors and Kanter are going to get better offensively with similar opportunities. If Jefferson leaves, we might even see what Marvin can do offensively.
Rondo has a reputation for being a pass first point guard, but he also has a reputation for triple double after triple double. That’s not something we can say about any Jazz player. He is a pass first point guard but he scores, unlike Tinsley and Watson. He might not have the jump shot of some other PG’s but his jump shot is improving. It wasn’t that long ago that Parker wasn’t as good at his jump shots as he is now. Rondo can keep on improving there in the same way that Parker has throughout his career.
Yeah he has a reputation for being arrogant and having a bad attitude, but so did Dwill. Every season Dwill would have his scraps with Jerry Sloan and his aging system. But he thrived in that system until the team added Jefferson for Boozer and the team couldn’t make up for the loss of an injured Okur. Then Dwill really started throwing the toys out of the pram over the system. But that’s winners, winners want to win and when they get used to winning they don’t like it when they don’t. Rondo’s situation at Boston is similar to Dwill’s here during his last half season. Boston are struggling for any sort of rhythm. Rondo is trying to overcompensate for that with his attitude.
Even John Stockton wasn’t that clean a player when he didn’t have the ball. Winners don’t want to lose – period. The Jazz need some of that attitude. I like Al, but there are games when he just accepts a situation is lost. I would rather Favors and Kanter got a little bit of the dirty about them than the Al attitude ‘Oh let’s lose another first quarter, we’ve only being doing that for the 2 plus years I’ve been here.’ That attitude has probably lost us more games than Corbin’s learning on the job.
Personally I think the Jazz should do everything it takes to try and make a play for Chris Paul, until he signs that contract with the Clippers. But I also know it isn’t going to happen, but regardless with our upcoming cap space this summer you don’t give up on that front until he signs the contract, he is a game changer for any franchise. My backup plan for now would be to make a trade with Toronto for Calderon to cover us now for Mo’s absence, and resign him in the summer if no better PG becomes available. While we have Calderon, make a play for Chris Paul (in case the crazy happens) and make a play for Rondo (in case it doesn’t), if neither of those two deals go down having Mo and Jose as our 1/2 PG’s we should at least improve over having Tinsley and Watson as our backups.
@Steven
I agree with almost everything you said. And you make a good point that Rondo CAN score which Watson and Tinsley can’t. I just wish so bad we could get a PG who could not only score, but could explode when we needed him to. Rondo can always get 10-18 points, but man it would be sweet to have a guy that could often go for 20-28. That’s what was great about D-Will. And he also had an attitude, but it was worth it because of what he provided to the system. I just don’t know that Rondo’s style would fit in on a team full of young guys who are still learning their role and what they need to improve to be better. D-Will had no patience for it, and therefore he quickly became a cancer that got our Hall of Fame coach to resign, and then to get himself traded. I don’t see the value in risking that again with a PG of a similar disposition.
Sure I wouldn’t be upset if we got Rondo because he is good. But I would be very catious of how he treated his young teammates. An explosive guy like him can either compel the team to wins simply due to his competitive edge, or he can destroy a team from the inside like Deron was doing. That’s my fear.
I don’t see Rondo doing that at the Celtics, his play and attitude is what is keeping Boston together when the front office is reluctant to blow up the roster.
I think there would certainly be elements of Boston that he would miss in coming here. The experience of the vets and their ability to grind out results for one. At the same time he would probably be happy to not have to be in a situation where the aging stars show no sign of being replaced.
There were a number of reasons Dwill acted the way he did that season. The system wasn’t as easily adapted to suit Al’s game in the same way it complemented Dwill and Boozer. 1st quarter losses were getting harder and harder to recover from as the season went on. The injury to Okur left a gaping hole in the Jazz offense. Hayward had talent but was suffering from the confidence to trust his game in the NBA environment in the early part of his rookie season. Hayward’s NBA game has moved on a lot since those days. It is doubtful that Al will here beyond the summer. If Al does leave, that may not lead to improved offense but Rondo is used to low scoring games in the East, those 1st quarter losses will probably either be reduced, or stop altogether with Favors in the lineup.
Favors and Kanter are still lining their role to a certain extent but this season their have been learning it with along with Hayward and both Hayward and Kanter are far removed from the rookie Hayward that DWill had to contend with that season.
@derek
This team plays better without Al, players are more efficient, and thinking that bringing in rondo would make this team a hell of a lot better somehow makes me crazy and I need to come down from outer space when you said the exact same thing? Did I miss something here, your bipolar thoughts are getting hard to figure out.
There are a lot of comments about Rondo being one dimensional that I think are crap. Rondo is a rebounding machine, the league ladder in assists and a very proficient mid teen scorer, while being a fabulous defender at the PG spot. His attitude is abrasive, but it is all about having a winning drive for him. He single handedly beat the Heat ina playoff game with a broken arm. In my opinion, he would make the Jazz a contender for a top 1-3 spot in the West.