Celtics Turn Down Trade from Kings for Rajon Rondo

A rumour was released last night that an offer was made from the Sacramento Kings to the Boston Celtics.

The Kings offered rookie Ben McLemore, point guard Isaiah Thomas and two picks. In return they wanted starting point guard Rajon Rondo. The Celtics declined.


My initial reaction was "What a bad move by the Celtics". But after a bit of thought, I see their thought process.

As it stands, the Celtics have a potential 21 draft picks in the next 5 years, an absolutely staggering number. Add this to a roster that already contains 7 players aged 25 and under, and you are looking a team that has serious potential for the future. But of course, every team needs a leader, and I think that Rajon Rondo can provide that. Along with Jeff Green and Brandon Bass, the Celtics have a decent big three.

And let's look at the players offered by the Kings. Isaiah Thomas is having the best season of his career (despite his team having an awful record), averaging 20 points and 6 assists a game. However, these numbers aren't as good as Rondo's could be once he fully recovers from injury. Ben McLemore has potential, and I think it would be a stupid move by the Kings to trade him away, especially with the Kings not having an abundance of young guards.

Rondo is 27 now, and with most of those previously mentioned draft picks coming in a few years, he could be aged 30 by the time the Celtics make the play-offs again. Will Rajon want to stay that long, or will he trade away to try and win a second ring to add to his previous one from 2008 ? Only time can tell.

Will Rondo stick around through the Celtics' difficult period ?

[Update : Since first writing this post, it has been rumoured that Rondo is on the trade block, with the Knicks, Raptors and Kings all interested]

Views on the Dunk Contest

So, the All-Star Weekend participants have been announced. The Dunk Contest will consist of, for the East, reigning champion Terrence Ross (Toronto Raptors), fan favourite Paul George (Indiana Pacers), John Wall (Washington Wizards), and for the West, Damien Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), rookie Ben McLemore (Sacramento Kings) and Harrison Barnes (Golden State Warriors).

So, still no LeBron James, despite Magic Johnson's offer of $1 million back in March of last year, but I still think the line up looks pretty strong. Better than last year's anyhow. Don't get me wrong, I love Kenneth Faried and Eric Bledsoe, but they seemed to lack that pizzazz (yup, that's a word) that has made the Dunk Contest a favourite in the NBA calendar. The lack of big names last year also didn't help popularity with the fans, but with 3 big stars in George, Lillard and Wall, surely the fans can't complain ?

Oh, and did I mention they've changed the format ? There will be no more dunk champions... Actually, that's a little dramatic, but for the first time this year, a conference will win rather an individual. Personally, I think this is a poor idea, and it needs to reversed pretty soon. What was wrong with 6 individuals dunking for themselves and then 1 winning at the end ?

"Who's gonna win ?", you may ask. Well, in my opinion, I feel that it will be the Eastern Conference because of two words... Paul George. He's already competed in the Dunk Contest in 2012 where he impressed fans with his dunk over Roy Hibbert (who stands at a mere 7 foot 2), and since then George has elevated (no pun intended) to the heights of the NBA.

You can't ignore the threat of the West though. Damien Lillard has thrown down two massive dunks in-game recently, and McLemore and Barnes have provided plenty of highlights in their shorts professional careers.

Paul George of the Indiana Pacers will hope to help the Eastern Conference towards victory