It would be beyond stupid to bring Rondo in at any price. Clarkson and even Brown give them more of what they need in today's NBA, play makers, guys who can be a triple threat with a pass, drive, or perimeter shot. And that's without even going into the attitude issues...and that he's a former C bag that was on a team that beat our Lakers in the finals.
Yeah. I could see him coming, though. If that's the case, give him a 1-year contract for the room exception. If it works, great. If not, bye bye. That should give him some motivation to do well...
rondo's agent better tell him that he's got to win the mavs at least two playoff games by himself to make back even a fraction of what he's lost by not playing well with others.
I was at 10 million before game 2 and after seeing him mail it in, it's down to 6-7 million. If he does thing again, we might be bidding against ourselves when it comes down to signing him. He wants to come here and I can't imagine a lot of teams are going to be throwing cash at him.
Their bodies are similar, and I guess you could make a case for them having some similar playing mechanics. But Lebron is just a natural fit at the 3. I do think Randle can play the 3. Is it ideal? Not at all. But if we can add Love and we draft Okafor/Towns, you do it and not look back. If it’s Okafor especially, you actually have a legitimate chance to make some noise in the playoffs. Not saying we win it, but another year of development of Clarkson, a healthy Kobe, a re-energized Love and a close to NBA ready Okafor…Randle hopefully develops by season’s end. In the playoffs we are a big, physical, dangerous team. Randle isn’t the ideal small forward, but with Love who can stretch the floor, the problems that might arise from that lineup for us could be offset by the problems it could potentially cause for other teams.
I have almost no interest in Upshaw after getting kicked out of not one, but two college programs. I know he's got great defensive ability, but there's a ton of red flags with him. Unless he absolutely blows me away in interviews, has insightful reasoning for his dismissals, and has a great physical workout I'm not taking the chance on him in the first round. I'll pick him in the 2nd round where his contract is non-guaranteed and we can release him if he acts up. With that late 1st rounder (assuming we keep it), I'll take a chance on a young international guy like Luwawu or Lucas who have the physical profile if not the talent. Basically taking a young project to go with our more ready young cats. I'd definitely take a SF at #5 over Cauley-Stein because the really talented SFs that are free agents are all restricted while there's plenty of big men that aren't restricted at all and could be totally serviceable AND affordable. I'd rather go into the season with Stan Johnson and Omer Asik, then Cauley-Stein and some low-tier SF because all the RFAs were matched. Ideally we move up in the draft and grab Okafor or Towns which means we can take greater chances later on in free agency. Assuming the likeliest thing happens and we land at 5 though: draft Winslow or Johnson at #5 (I still prefer Johnson), draft Lucas at #27, try to grab Upshaw on the back end at #34 (if not then Dakari Johnson is certainly there), sign Omer Ask, Mo WIlliams, Ed Davis, and Wayne Ellington. Jordan Clarkson/Mo Williams/George Lucas Kobe Bryant/Wayne Ellington/Jabari Brown Stanley Johnson/Nick Young Julius Randle/Tarik Black/Ryan Kelly Omer Asik/Ed Davis/Robert Upshaw Damn solid team with room to replace Kobe next season. If you want to make the run at Durant, slide Stan Johnson up to SG. If you have a log jam inside, trade away Kelly. If Upshaw/Dakari don't work then you can cut 'em. If Nick Young isn't cutting it, you can let him go and sign another SF with the cash you'll have next summer. Jabari Brown is cheap and expendable. You've got youth, size, athleticism, outside shooting. Honestly with some luck this team has a shot at the 8th seed next season and it only gets better from there.
Agreed. At this point we might be his only destination left and we're certainly not going to break any banks to get to him. Heck he's playing himself into a bench role.
At what point should I start saying, "I told you so" on Rondo? Now, in addition to all the other reasons I don't want him anywhere close to Clarkson. Nash's mentoring seems to have helped Clarkson reach a new level. I don't want Rondo messing with that by example, influence, instruction, attitude, mood, or taking playing time.
I honestly could see a scenario where we end up with both Love AND Ron-doh. Would not be surprised to see our lineup next season as WCS/Sacre/Black Love/Black/Kelly Randle/Young Kobe/Clarkson/Brown Rondo/Clarkson/Lucas You could have roughly 6-7 million to sign Rondo with all those guys. As bad as he's been, I could see 6-7 getting it done. I must stress, this is NOT me endorsing Rondo. I have been with Time since the beginning. I do not want him, I do not want him. Did I mention I do not want him? Well, I do not want him. But with his recent bull s***, his price tag may be so low the front office goes for it.
Yeah. I am pretty firmly in the no camp as far as Rondo goes at this point. The biggest thing to me is that I'm just not sure how good he actually is at this point. He is stinking it up with the Mavs and Boston sure doesn't miss him. Pretty much every other point guard option in free agency, the draft, and just staying pat seem more appealing to me right now than Rondo.
I'm not sure how Mitch could ignore just how bad Rondo looks and how much better the Mavs play without him.
Honestly, if I am being completely objective about it; the root of the Mavs issue is their defense. That's been a problem going back to the beginning if the year. The reason they were winning games was their offensive efficiency was off the charts. Then, the trade for Rondo happened; pairing him with a other ball handler (Ellis) that needed the ball In order for him to be effective and we both know Rondo needed the ball to be effective. We sees the problem when their paired together. Carlisle attempted to even stagger the minutes. That hasn't worked. Then Parsons got hurt, Dirk has been awful the last part of the season, Ellis got hurt, Carlisle and Rondo didn't get along, etc. It actually could just be a bad fit from a basketball standpoint. What's not an excuse is his diva behavior, mailing it in last night, the porous attitude, and his general behavior toward the head coach. It's a pattern. WTS, we'll see how the Lakers approach it and go from there...
Gotta admit, I was in the "get Rondo" camp for a long time, but this season really soured me to him. With all the problems of this team, I don't think we should concentrate on an aging player that has diminished so drasticly, even at bargain bin prices. I'd rather spend the money on a SF and Center and throw Clarkson into the permanent starting PG position.
I also thought Rondo wouldn't be bad at the right price, but now I'm with everyone else. Not worth the risk.
Yeah I agree, even at the min. Rondo would be a terrible decision. Depending on how the Lakers treat the rondo option, will show a lot about whats really going on in the FO
Agreed. I was on the Rondo train definitely, but to be fair that was before the breakout of Clarkson. After Clarkson's strong rookie season, I'm not even that high on Dragic either and I was on board with both of them in a big way.
And rightfully so, we haven't had a decent PG in years. At this point though, his attitude and play alone are enough to stay away
My biggest fear this offseason is somehow ending up with both Rondo and Love. It's funny because they actually want to come here.
