Should Boston Celtics Trade Rajon Rondo or Avery Bradley This Summer?

The Boston Celtics have played their way well into the NBA’s playoff conversation and by doing so, they’ve opened the offseason floodgates, specifically with regard to Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley.

Boston is 16-7 since Rondo went down and have, at the very least, feigned contention. Upon Rondo’s removal from the lineup, the thought of contending bordered on whimsical and yet, here they are, still well within reach of a top-four finish in the Eastern Conference.

Three games under .500 (20-23) at the time of Rondo’s injury, many have attempted to attribute the Celtics’ recent success to his absence. The ball is moving more crisply and everyone involved has stepped up offensively. Perhaps Boston is better off without Rondo. Or maybe even Bradley.

What say you, general manager Danny Ainge?

He says no.

While speaking with Boston sports radio WBZ-FM (98.5 the SportsHub), Ainge remained steadfast in his refusal to trade either Bradley or Rondo upon season’s end (via Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com):

“I don’t know what you’re insinuating because Avery is not Rondo and Avery can also play 2 guard with Rondo and those guys have been extremely effective together,” Ainge said. “I know that we haven’t had them together much this year and I think that Rajon loves playing with Avery Bradley for a lot of different reasons. I think that combination last year proved to be spectacular, they just didn’t get a chance to get together much this year, so it’s a little bit unfair.”

…

“I can’t envision any scenario, no,” Ainge said. “I love those guys, where Rondo is right in the prime of his career, and Avery’s not even there yet, he’s continuing to get better. I think they are a great guard combination and to ever consider doing something like that, it would have to be something significant.”

First off, did we really expect Ainge to say anything else?

Of course not. He’s never been very candid about making personnel moves. He prefers to operate in the shadows and let the anonymous sources do their job.

Does this mean he’s lying?

Again, of course not.

There are plenty of arguments that will surface in support of trading one or the other (I’d imagine mostly Rondo), but it’s far too early to give up on this pairing.

 
I could use the argument that Ainge has let veterans and Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce ride the way this long, but I won’t. Instead, I’ll point you to their time spent together on the floor last season. Bradley and Rondo spent more than 450 minutes next to each other last year, and during that time the Celtics outscored their opponents by an average of 13.4 points per 100 possessions.

A small sample size? In the scheme of an entire season, yes, but effective nonetheless. Bear in mind that Boston’s is just plus-0.4 points per game on the season right now, so potent results such as these would be welcomed.

Admittedly, however, these results also aren’t enough to declare Bradley and Rondo a flawless duo. Neither is an exceptional jump shooter and both can be out of control on the offensive end. They’re also both nice on- and off-ball defenders, and capable of running an offense. Let’s not make the argument that they can’t coexist then. At least not yet. For one, the early evidence suggests otherwise and secondly, what’s the alternative at this point? Trade Rondo?

Puh-lease.

If the Celtics trade Rondo—I’m not saying they will—they’d be foolish to do so over the summer. Coming off an ACL injury, his value isn’t likely to be as high as it would, say midseason, when he’s had a chance to prove himself still durable and crafty. Even if he wanted to then (he doesn’t), Ainge wouldn’t move Rondo.

There’s still so much we don’t know about this Celtics team, like what will happen to Garnett and Pierce beyond this season. Through the clouds of ambiguity, though, there is some clarity to be shed. Look close enough, listen hard enough and you’ll discover that both Bradley and Rondo will be donning Celtics green next season.

Danny Ainge says so.