One day after the trade and I’m sure most of us still can’t believe that the Celtics actually traded Rajon Rondo. Even those who thought the best move was deal him (me), found themselves in shock and a little bit saddened by the news. Though up to this point Rondo had been having a below average season, he was still the only thing that resembled an all-star in our lineup. He was the reminder of the golden years with KG and Paul Pierce, and he was the one piece that you always felt that if we just got one more guy on board we could be a good team again.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as such. When Danny Ainge realized that he wasn’t going to get another quality player to team up with Rondo, he most likely decided that Rondo wouldn’t be worth 20 million a year without a team that could make some serious noise. So when Dallas came knocking with draft picks and a couple of young prospects, Ainge looked around, saw he had nothing better, and pulled the trigger. Of course the backlash was huge. Not only did we just trade Rondo, but at first glance it feels like we traded him for a couple of McChickens and small fries without ketchup. Who is Brandan Wright? Who is Jae Crowder? And, oh my god, Jameer Nelson, too?? Mark Cuban looks like he got an absolute steal from Boston!
But on second glance, the deal doesn’t feel as bad when you consider that Boston will have 4 1st round picks in 2016. Do your best to forget Nelson. With his best days gone, he’ll either get the Keith Bogans treatment or sit at the end of bench with Gerald Wallace reminiscing about the good ole days.
However, things get interesting when you take a closer look at Brandan Wright. At 27, he’s just entering his prime, His 26.19 PER ranks above James Harden and Lebron James even though he plays a shade under 19 minutes a game. He’s athletic, can run the floor, protect the rim a little bit, and owns a 74.8% FG. His ability to get up for alley-oops, use his length to fight for boards, and block shots reminds me a bit of Tyson Chandler. His style fits perfectly with the Celtics fast pace, and his infusion into the lineup will probably allow Kelly Olynyk to play exclusively at the 4 in the second unit.
At first glance Jae Crowder’s stats don’t look too appealing; 3.6 ppg, 0.5 apg, and 1.2 rpg. However, he was a 4 year college player who finished his career off at Marquette as the Big East Player of the Year. From there he was drafted by the Cavaliers and sent to Mavericks (17.3 mpg, 5.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, and 1.2 apg). In his 2nd year he saw less time (16.1 mpg), and even fewer minutes (10.6 mpg) this season. Crowder is versatile. He’s a big, pesky defender who can cover guards and power forwards. Offensively, he’s a lot more polished than his numbers will show, He has great range from 3 (34.2% FG this year) and with his nice stroke can pretty much shoot it from anywhere if given enough touches (something he was not given in Dallas). Despite not being too athletic, his size allows him to take the ball to the rim and finish through contact. His high-energy play and ability to get up and down court also fit into the Celtics style. His defensive intensity will make him a favorite of Brad Stevens and the fans.
It might be hard to do right now, but do not compare these players to Rajon Rondo. Rondo is like no other player in this league. His passing and rebounding ability is out of this world, and the history he made here will never be forgotten. However, Stevens system was not a good fit for him, and his inconsistency was a killer. Rondo was at the bottom in the league among point guards in True Shooting Percentage, T.O Ratio, Defensive Efficiency, and Estimated Wins Added (EWA). Maybe it was a combination of being on a bad team and age, but Rondo just didn’t bring it every night. He can go to Dallas and do what he does best, distribute the ball while Monta Ellis, Chandler Parsons, and Dirk take care of the scoring.
At the end of the day Boston was able to acquire two young pieces with potential who fit into Brad Stevens’ system, while stockpiling more draft picks and a hefty 12.9 million trade exception. The Celtics may have parted ways with the last member of their golden championship days, but they are still very much in a position of power for this year and beyond. They just took two steps back, to take five steps forward.
