Clayton -
We have previously mentioned how we feel there are many things that go on or are rumored to be happening that are utterly stupid. We have also discussed about going off on possible rants when it comes to team management or fans when an issue comes up. So far we have only gone on minor rants and not full scale blow ups.
So far…
I was having a great Thursday afternoon: found out I would be a father of a baby girl, we started getting things for baby, and we hung out with family.
Then around 5 o’clock or so, I read that the Lakers will prioritize signing Rajon Rondo over Goran Dragic. What?
Note: I chose to hold off on posting this, feeling maybe I would be less upset due to the excitement of the day, but it didn’t help.
A couple quick things about that… Dragic is the superior player now and it isn't even close, and if I were the Lakers, I would not sign EITHER player.
Dragic is not leaving Miami anyways in my opinion.
The fact the Lakers still have interest in Rondo is unbelievable. What the hell has Rondo exactly done in the past three years to be considered anyones priority or worth the money people are talking?
He appears to be in decline, due to either high usage or his knee injury, wants to be massively overpaid and it would not be a good fit despite what many are saying. Let me break it down a bit.
Rondo wants a max deal. With the salary cap about to skyrocket the max this year will not be too bad, but no way in hell am I giving Rajon Rondo even $10 million a year.
In the past, Rondo was one of the most exciting players in the league while being on one of the best teams of the past decade.
Rondo played on a team that featured three possible first ballot hall of famers (Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen if you were asleep for the last 7 or so years) with one of the best coaches in the league, Doc Rivers. He was young, fast, explosive, has huge hands and could defend point guards, shooting guards and even small forwards because of his extreme length. He was a great distributor and at times still looks like one, while causing tremendous havoc in the playoffs.
I decided to look up Rondo’s numbers over his career. What I found was odd so I discussed the topic with Jeff. Now he is a Celtics fan and I am a Lakers fan. He still likes him and I have never understood the superstar label. Let’s just say we disagree on him.
I felt when the trade to Dallas was announced, that Rondo would set the league on fire. He was going to a contender (at the time), much better teammates, and would be given a chance to show the league he was worth a max deal. None of that has happened.
That is the present, now let’s dive into the past a bit.
Admittedly, Jeff made some great points for Rondo. He discussed numbers before the trade to Dallas, which in my opinion could be due to being on a bad team someone has to get some stats, but these teammates will be discussed shortly. He still has some talent, but I question how much.
Jeff then brought up the 2012 playoffs when Rondo smothered LeBron James in the Eastern Conference Finals and was possibly the best player on the court averaging 21 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds and 3 steals for the series. Those numbers are insane, especially for the playoffs. I will again admit that Rondo is spectacular in the playoffs.
He has never come close to that line in the regular season. Yes, yes, yes I know the playoffs are more important but you HAVE TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS FIRST.
Rondo’s best season came in 2012-2013 (the last season with Garnett and Pierce; Allen left after the 2011-2012 season), when he averaged 13.7 points per game, 11.1 assists per game and 5.6 rebounds per game. Those are very good numbers, but debatable how much of a star considering the guys around him.
Rondo was a star. Yes I will admit it, Rondo was a star. He was NEVER a superstar or worth a max deal. NEVER.
Let’s look a bit more into Rondo’s numbers before you call me crazy.
Rondo has never shot better than 64.5% from the free throw line and has never drawn more than 3.5 free throw attempts per game. This year he is averaging just 1.1 free throws a game… and wait for it…. 39.4% on those attempts…. WHAT?!?!?!?!? That is 0.1% and 0.2% better than Andre Drummond (39.3%) and DeAndre Jordan (39.2)! Rondo is lucky he has too few amount of attempts to even register.
Yes Rondo is clearly not known as a shooter, but he can’t even make free throws! The next non-C or non-PF is Draymond Green at 66.1%! Pathetic.
Obviously Rondo does not take a lot of free throw attempts per game, but that is another aspect you have to take into account. For comparison of a distributing guard, John Stockton never averaged less than 2.4 attempts per game, and that was in his rookie season. For his career, Stockton averaged 3.9 free throw attempts per game. Drawing fouls is something necessary in today’s game, and Rondo doesn’t penetrate enough to draw them. Obviously Stockton is a Hall of Famer, but Rondo is said to be a distributor much like Stockton was, thus the comparison.
Rondo has never shot better than 31% (08-09) from downtown and this is the only other year in which has reached 30% and this year he is exactly at 30%. Other than this year and 08-09, Rondo’s highest percentage from deep is 28.9% and 26.3%. He has had 5 seasons of less than 24%.
So Rondo can’t shoot from deep as we all knew but not to the extent (career 26%). He is awful at the line, trending down in the last 3 years and his career average is only 60.9%.
So much time has already been spent on Rondo’s 3 point shooting and FT shooting that I am hoping you get the point with his 2 point shooting. In short, it is 43.6% this year and a career average of 48.9%. Though the career average is ok, this season’s has been especially atrocious for a guy with an already bad rep as a poor shooter.
But hey Clayton, you are forgetting just how good of a distributor (now are you understanding the Stockton comp?) Rondo is. Rondo this year has only averaged 8 assists per game. The past 4 years he was a excellent, but it is trending down now. Do not blame it on his teammates either. Last year he averaged 9.8 apg and 10.8 before the trade. Since being shipped to Dallas, he is averaging only 6.5. Yes new system and he clearly is not happy. Rondo appears to be in one of his cry baby mental funks because he is grumpy and Rick Carlisle is calling the plays. That should not matter as Rondo now has Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons, Monta Ellis and pick and roll champion Tyson Chandler to distribute the ball to.
His season average places him right at fifth overall in apg, but if you go off of his numbers since the trade, he is tied with Tyreke Evans at 6.5 apg. That is hilarious all by itself.
Clearly his offense is on the decline, but hey at least he has that crazy length and amazing defense...
Actually, Rondo admitted that since the Celtics brought in defensive stud Avery Bradley, that he had stopped playing defense. SINCE 2010! That statement is pathetic. Makes you want to just sign him to a huge deal, huh? An already weak offensive player that is declining and who has admitted to not playing defense? Actually on second thought no thanks.
Well, maybe he was trying to give credit to Bradley and his numbers are actually good. That is a big no too. Rondo has not averaged 2 steals a game in 4 years and the last 2 it is less than 1.4 steals per game.
Rondo only ranks 33rd in the league in steals per game, so no the numbers back up that he is no longer a good defender.
As a final resort, I looked at my beloved advanced stats to see if Rondo was doing more while I was not seeing it in the normal numbers or tape. Rondo is only posting a 13.21 PER according to ESPN. to compare that on his own team, Devin Harris has a PER of 14.97 and Monta Ellis has a PER of 17.43. Those are two guys Rondo is supposed to be better than.
To give a look of the playoff picture, Rondo has a chance of playing against James Harden in the first round (not a PG but the likely opponent against the Rockets since he handles the ball so much) and either Mike Conley or Tony Parker in the second round. Their PERs’s are 26.95 (Harden is so damn good), 18.8 and 16.21. Harden is just not fair. Conley is still excellent and though Parkers is much lower than the other two, the last few weeks it has jumped due to his improved play of late.
If you are still not getting it, Rondo is in decline and not that good.
I am willing to try to overlook some of the numbers despite knowing that is foolish and consider some other issues with Rondo.
I have seen that Rondo is not the same because of the knee injury. Well if Rondo was going to revert back to 2012 numbers, it would have happened already. He is in his second full season removed from injury. If he were say 24 or so, maybe, just maybe he would come back. That is not the case. Rondo is now 29 years old and passing the age of what is considered a players prime years.
That is to say, the fall will only be worse. He may have a decent year or two again, but his likely return to star form is unlikely.
“Rondo is such a star that he elevates his teammates to new levels, despite his numbers not showing his true value.” This is a statement I have heard for years. You know what, with HOFers like KG, Pierce, and Allen, that may have actually been true. He was the perfect little brother fit and helped that team excel.
Now? Dallas went from a possible three, four or five seed, to now a likely seven seed. That is huge in terms of seeding in the West. So his Rondo’s play is actually hurting the team. Sure, Monta Ellis has struggled for the last 2 months, possibly due to the trade, but he is not to blame for Rondo’s play or even fully to blame for the Mavs slide in the standings.
This is not likely to get any better. Hopefully he re-signs with the Mavs (sadly that appears unlikely), preventing the Lakers from making a huge mistake.
Now to the point in the article where I am going to rant about the Lakers and their moronic fan base.
First, the fans.
How stupid is this fan base? People honestly think we were going to be competing in the West this season? No way in hell. Are you all that delusional? Even if Kobe had never got hurt, this team was a bottom dwelling team.
We have little in terms of assets, and the ones we do possess, should not be traded to try to win now.
Stop the cry to sign stars for the sake of having names. Nash was 10 times better than Rondo ever was and he was injured. Rondo is in decline. That kind of crap is what got the Lakers in this mess in the first place!
I also want to punch the next Lakers fan in the face if they say that “the Lakers don’t rebuild. We sign stars and make huge trades and that is how we win championships.”
Clearly that is not the case. We got lucky in the Gasol trade (thanks Jerry West) and we drafted Andrew Bynum. Is Bynum now done in the league? Yes, but before he got hurt and was traded away, during our run of winning 2 NBA Championships in a row and going to 3 NBA Finals in a row, Bynum was a key piece and was arguably a top 3 center. Stop saying he was a bust. We won two championships with him. If that is a bust then I want that every year. Bunch of fools.
The Lakers draft and build on youth. We may sign a big free agent or trade for someone, but it all starts with youth and picks. Magic Johnson, James Worthy, A.C. Green, Vlade Divac, Elden Campbell, Anthony Peeler, Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, Derek Fisher, and Andrew Bynum were all Lakers picks. That isn’t even counting how the Lakers traded for Kobe Bryant almost immediately after the draft.
Kobe and Magic were both keys (and arguably biggest assets) to their own Lakers dynasties. Young talent near the top of the draft. Hmm… maybe Lakers fans should stop being pigheaded.
Now not all of those players were stars, but many of them did turn into them and others developed into valuable role players or assets (such as Divac who was a key piece in acquiring Kobe from the Hornets). Drafting great young talents is clearly how we do it.
Now to the front office and for the fans to listen, and some of this was mentioned in our previous Lakers rebuild post.
Why bail on a rebuilding process to sign a player like Rondo who does not fit the team or stage of development this team is in?
The Lakers already have Jordan Clarkson, 22, developing and before time is taken away from him and given to an older free agent like Rondo or even Dragic, how about you just let him play.
Clarkson may never turn into more than a good 6th man or long term starter, but right now he is probably better than Rondo and is playing with his head on fire (Clarkson won rookie of the month for March and has a PER of 16.5). This could be due to a bad team needing someone to put up numbers, but if you watch Clarkson, the game is slowing down for him and he is getting more efficient. Maybe not a star or the future as many fans are touting him to be, but a valuable guy who is worth playing over an aging, declining “name player.”
Dragic is better than Rondo and Clarkson, but he will be turning 29 in May. No thanks. Good talent and could age well, but in a league where the 1 (basketball slang for point guard) is key, I want a guy that will be young for the next 8 years and not already old in a year.
If you are going to add talent at the PG position, how about draft with their high draft pick Emmanuel Mudiay (rumored to be no. 2 on the Lakers draft board) or D’Angelo Russell (may be more of a 2 guard, but can still handle the ball well) if they can?
Stop building for a run next year. It is not happening. The west is too good. I spoke on how the west may be slipping in a few years in the Lakers rebuild post, but for the next two, the Lakers are not likely to sniff the playoffs.
Side Note: I may have mentioned it in my previous Lakers rebuild post, but why the hell do the Lakers not go after anyone in restricted free agency? All is costs is time and paper. If you don’t get the player, then oh well, but at least you could have added a talented young guy and possibly hurt the other team in strapping them with a bigger deal than they wanted…
All year, the Lakers have been talking about not trying to improve at the cost of the future just for the sake of it being Kobe’s last year. This smells like an appeasing move to Kobe. Rondo is supposedly a friend, but that should have no bearing on signing him. Who cares if they are friends? The Lakers already gave Kobe that crazy deal despite him being hurt and the team possibly using that cash elsewhere.
What happens when Kobe and Rondo disagree? Kobe retires after the year and we are stuck with crappy and crabby Rondo for another three years, likely taking minutes from better options. That sounds awful.
Plus, Rondo needs the ball to be effective as does Kobe and likely others for their development. Rondo is not a move without the ball player and that fact alone will severely hurt other players development.
Clayton, Rondo wouldn’t hurt the future development of this team. Oh you need proof?
The Celtics are in the playoff hunt in the Eastern Conference (currently a full game over the Heat and Pacers with around five games left) after trading Rondo and Jeff Green, their two best players. Then they dealt Brandon Wright, the best player in the Rondo deal coming back to Boston. Yes they struggled at first due to their youth, but they are now playing very well. Coach Brad Stevens is a miracle worker, and the Lakers need a clone of him.
If you want to sign a guy to help further along Clarkson, Mudiay or Russell, sign a veteran point guard like Kirk Hinrich (not a free agent after the year, I was just using his name as comp for the situation). A solid vet who know the game, but is not good enough on the court to take away minutes from your developing guys. Having three point guards is not an issue considering the Lakers have gone through about five or six this season.
OR, sign Nash to a deal making him a coach, mentor, ambassador or whatever you want to call it. He is one of the best point guards if not the best since the turn of the century and his influence may be the reason why Clarkson has improved so rapidly. This to me is something I feel that should be looked into if Nash is interested.
Build for the next decade Lakers. Let your young guys develop and sign younger free agents (yes even restricted free agents Lakers!) like Tobias Harris, Brandon Knight, or Kris Middleton. If you have money in your pocket and it’s burning a hole then go after bigger guys like Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard or Greg Monroe (not really a fit, but a rumored possibility that would still fit better than Rondo).
Another side note: Kupchuk and Buss, if you pick up Jordan Hill’s $9 million option next year, you are idiots. Hill is awful. Bench guy at best and should be let go immediately after the season.
Decline his option and get the $9 million in cap space. If you want to re-sign him, cut his salary to around $4 million.
Bottom line to all of this, Rondo was a star, but is declining, aging and wants too much money. Only dumbass fans and a front office full of dip----s would want to get this guy. Go young and develop a franchise PG for the next decade instead. With the money saved, spend it elsewhere like, like small forward or center.
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