Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
A source told Sporting News on Monday that, while Ainge gets calls on Rondo regularly, he has no intention of trading him, but rather, wants to see how Rondo operates as the team leader without Pierce and Garnett around.
As one opposing general manager put it, “I don’t think Danny has made a single call about Rondo. He has gotten calls. But it would be wrong to say he has considered shopping him.”
And Rondo is perfectly happy to be part of the Celtics going forward. He has not issued a trade demand or a request or even so much as a trade inquiry, a source told Sporting News. He has no incentive to do so. In fact, Rondo welcomes the challenge of taking over the new-look Celtics, however things might pan out.
It appears Danny Ainge is willing to hand over the car keys to Rajon Rondo. Unfortunately, Rondo’s first ride will be in a 1989 Ford Tempo (my 1st ride) and not some slick Benz.
Ainge doesn’t have much of a choice in this situation.
Rondo may be 27 and in the prime of his career, but his trade value is diminished significantly because of the ACL injury.
I also think it would be foolish to dump Rondo as part of Tankapalooza 2014. Even if the Celtics strike gold in next year’s draft, Mr. Franchise Savior is going to need help.
The mighty LeBron James went ringless in his 7 seasons in Cleveland. What was the main reason behind his departure? He didn’t have enough help to win a title.
There’s this misconception that tanking is the only option for a legitimate rebuild.
You can build a team through solid drafting and free agents. Look at the Pacers. Their cornerstone players (Paul George – 10th, Roy Hibbert – 17th) were not top 5 picks. Their key role players (David West, George Hill) were brought in via trade and free agency. The Grizzlies pieced together their team mostly by trades and free-agency. Same goes for the Nuggets and Rockets.
It can be done.
As for the small matter of hiring a head coach, Ainge is not in a rush:
“I don’t feel any pressure or any rush to go through that process,” Ainge said Monday after the team introduced rookie draft picks Kelly Olynyk and Colton Iverson at a community event in Mattapan. “We’re through the draft, we’re all prepared for summer league, we have enough guys in the gym for our [players] now. We have our strength coaches. We have enough coaches around to work out our players when they come in. There’s just no urgency at all on that. So we’ll take our time.”
It’s going to be Jay Larranaga or Brett Brown.
The rest of the links:
Herald – Scal lends a hand to Olynyk | Ainge cleans up roster | ESPN Boston – Ainge: No intentions of moving Rajon | Celtics introduce rookies | Ainge not throwing in towel | Globe – Don’t bet on tanking | CSNNE – Olynyk excited to get started | Iverson hopes to continue to impress | Ainge looks to keep Rondo on rebuilding Celtics
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