Rajon Rondo is back. Almost.
The Boston Celtics All-Star point guard has been sidelined since the middle of last season with an ACL injury, and his return has been uncertain. According to the Boston Globe‘s Baxter Holmes, however, that’s on the verge of changing.
A source told Holmes that Rondo is dunking again in practice and looking close to 100 percent. Holmes also says Rondo’s overall workload has increased as of late and a December return is not out of the realm of possibility. Which is huge.
Beantown is running without a true point guard at the moment. I’ve seen both Jordan Crawford and Avery Bradley attempt to run the offense, and it’s rarely been pretty. Getting Rondo back gives rookie head coach Brad Stevens a floor general to tie this mess of talent together and allows the Celtics to begin their rebuild for real. Maybe.
Repeated attempts to quell trade rumors have done nothing to dull my suspicions. A 27-year-old Rondo doesn’t make much sense for the Celtics. They haven’t indicated a desire to pay him big money when his contract is up after next season and I wonder what value is to be had building around a point guard—now with a history of knee injuries—who will be approaching 30 once the team is ready to contend again.
Derrick Rose’s latest setback must serve as a cautionary tale, too. What if Rondo gets injured again? Tears his other ACL? What if he’s never the same again? Rondo’s contract comes off the books after next season, diminishing the averse effect he would have on the team’s future, but still.
Rondo isn’t Rose. That much I understand. His ACL injury wasn’t thought as severe, but it was still a tear. And those are fickle injuries. They’ve become routine in a sense, but for players who rely heavily on quickness and dribble penetration—aka Rondo—additional problems can creep up in the future.
Unlike Rose, Rondo doesn’t depend on explosion to get him through the game. I’m no doctor, but Rondo’s absence of a need for elevation is probably a good thing. Ask me right now if he’s destined to battle knee injuries the rest of his career, I’ll say maybe. Perhaps even no. Where with Rose I couldn’t help but feel like he wasn’t back for good, I could see Rondo returning to form without a hitch. Not a knock on Rose, just a hunch I have.
All this has to factor into how Boston approaches the future.
Remember, Rondo is going to help them win, which for tanking purposes, is the antithesis of success. The Celtics have won enough without him as it is. With him in the lineup, they may contend for one of those last playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. You never know on this side of the country. Certain teams are that bad, inconsistent and disappointing (cough, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, cough).
Knowing that Rondo could make them better or rather, mediocre, when they need to be bad, could compel general manager Danny Ainge to trade him. Even now, I’m sure the Celtics could snag more of those nifty first-round picks they’ve taken a liken to.
If that is the route the Celtics opt to explore, don’t expect a move anytime soon. Ainge and friends are more likely to roll the dice, hope that Rondo’s stock skyrockets upon return and capitalize off a team’s desperation at the trade deadline. Or the Celtics could keep him. Truthfully, I don’t know.
Threaten to push me off a cliff if I don’t answer, I’ll venture a guess that he’s moved by the end of the year or next season the latest. But anything could happen at this point. What say you?
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
