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Latest On Rajon Rondo

January 22nd, 2014 at 10:50am CST by Chuck Myron

Celtics GM Danny Ainge isn’t shopping Rajon Rondo, but he isn’t turning away calls, either, sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Still, Ainge has consistently rejected offers for the All-Star point guard, according to Berger. The only time the Celtics came close to trading Rondo was in a deal that would have landed them Chris Paul, Berger writes, presumably referring to a 2011 proposal.

Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders gets the sense from his time around the C’s that they want to keep Rondo around and gauge how well he can become a leader. It’s a role they envisioned for their newly appointed captain before the departures of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, so it appears they’re invested in him for at least the foreseeable future. A weekend report from Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News nonetheless indicated that executives around the league believe the C’s will try to trade Rondo at the deadline or before the draft in June. That echoes what Chad Ford of ESPN.com wrote last week.

Rondo has been at the center of several rumors since the Garnett/Pierce trade this summer, but most of the recent suggestions that he’s on the block appear to be coming from outside the Celtics organization. Ainge has been steadfast that Rondo isn’t a trade candidate, so perhaps the idea that he could be on the move is just wishful thinking from other teams.

Rondo’s contract runs through next season, when he’ll make a little more than $12.9MM, a bargain for a top point guard. It’s unlikely he’ll sign an extension, Berger writes, noting the limitations in the latest collective bargaining agreement that make it unappealing for most star players to do so. Berger says that Rondo can only add two years to his deal if he signs an extension this summer, and while he can actually add up to three years via extension come July, it would nonetheless be to Rondo’s advantage to wait until he becomes a free agent in the summer of 2015. Then, he could re-sign with the C’s for up to five seasons, or ink a deal for as many as four years with another team.

Eastern Notes: Stern, ‘Melo, Rondo, Embiid

January 19th, 2014 at 12:08pm CST by Jonathan Nehring

An end of an era is drawing near when NBA commissioner David Stern will turn the keys over to Adam Silver at the end of this month. Mark Heisler of Sheridan Hoops reminisces on his memories of Stern and the great impact he had on the NBA. Heisler sums up his memories with the following statement. “Whether you loved him, hated him, respected him or lived in fear of angering him, if you played, worked in or followed the NBA, you have him to thank. For people like me, you have him to remember and to miss.”

For those of us who will still be following the NBA beyond Stern’s retirement, here are a few notes around the Eastern Conference.

According to Al Iannazzone of Newsday, the primary job for the Knicks‘ front office until February 20th is to figure out if Carmelo Anthony wants to stay in New York and what it will take to keep him there. Iannazzone thinks the Knicks should use every effort they can over the next month to get whomever Carmelo wants to play with or they won’t likely have Anthony’s services next season. If they can’t get who Carmelo wants for teammates, Iannazzone urges the Knicks to trade Anthony before the deadline. If not, they risk a very likely chance they lose Carmelo this summer while getting nothing in return.
One of Carmelo’s desired teammates is rumored to be Rajon Rondo. Reports of Rondo being traded have resurfaced of late and Matt Moore of CBS Sports breaks down why trading Rondo makes sense for the Celtics. Moore believes if the Celtics can get a first-round pick for him they should trade Rondo right away. With Rondo entering a contract year next year Moore reasons the Celtics (as typical of most teams under the current CBA) are unlikely to extend Rondo during the season and wait until the following summer. Moore believes that will be too late for Boston because Rondo won’t wait around for the Celtics current rebuilding project. In addition, according to Moore “the number one rule for any rebuild is you move your best player on a big contract. It gets you the most assets back.”
While not currently in the NBA, a look at our reverse standings indicates Joel Embiid will very likely join a team from the Eastern Conference next summer. After Embiid’s performance yesterday Jeff Goodman of ESPN (Insider piece), Josh Newman of Zagsblog, and Gary Parrish of CBS Sports all think Embiid has moved into at least the top three of next summer’s draft and potentially the number one pick overall.

Celtics Attempting To Move Rajon Rondo?

January 18th, 2014 at 3:26pm CST by Charlie Adams

Just earlier today, we passed along that ESPNBoston.com’s Chad Forsberg suggested it was unlikely Rajon Rondo would be moved, but Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News hears from “more than a few” executives around the league that the C’s will try to deal Rondo, either at the trade deadline or before the draft this June. According to Lawrence, the proposed move would probably be appealing to the recently returned Rondo since he likely won’t be eager to accept a role on a rebuilding team. He’s signed through 2014/15, and will earn about $13MM next season.

There have been a steady flux of Rondo trade rumors since the Celtics and Nets hooked up last summer on the blockbuster deal that sent Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn. Boston GM Danny Ainge has repeatedly dismissed these rumors and continues to stress that he pegs Rondo as the cornerstone to build the franchise around. Rondo has recently been part of rumors involving a potential deal with the Knicks, but Lawrence hears that Phoenix and Houston are two of the most likely landing spots for him. Dallas seems to have an affinity for Rondo as well, but it doesn’t look like they’ll have the proper assets to put together a desirable package for Boston.

Lawrence’s piece implies it’s essentially a foregone conclusion that Rondo will be dealt, which I find a little surprising since there are so many questions about how he will bounce back and perform on the court after recovering from his ACL tear. Rondo’s talent is enticing though, and it’s tough to imagine there are many teams in the league that would object to his presence on their roster. We’ll likely continue to hear trade chatter about Rondo as the February 20th trade deadline fast approaches.

Atlantic Rumors: Smith, ‘Melo, Young

January 15th, 2014 at 6:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

J.R. Smith expressed his displeasure both during and after Monday’s game to Mike Woodson, who had decided against starting him for overtime that night, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Smith was late for a meeting Tuesday, sources told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, and Woodson benched him for the entirety of last night’s game. Begley hears Smith is still angry at the team for waiving his brother last month. Still, Woodson said today on The Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Ruocco Show on ESPN New York 98.7 that he’s not “kicking J.R. to the curb,” and that he’ll remain a “big part” of the club, Berman notes. Here’s more from the Atlantic Division on the day that Smith and six others become eligible to be traded.

Woodson also said on radio that he’s “concerned” that the events of this season might lead Carmelo Anthony to sign elsewhere, but the coach nonetheless believes Anthony will play for the Knicks his entire career, Newsday’s Al Iannazzone observes.
The Sixers are ramping up discussions with other teams about potential Thaddeus Young trades, and executives around the league consider it a “lock” that they’ll try to trade Evan Turner, writes Grantland’s Zach Lowe in a piece on today’s three-team swap.
The Warriors reportedly passed on Kyle Lowry because they were worried he’d be a poor fit for their locker room, but the Raptors point guard tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that he’s unaware of how the team would get that impression.
Nerlens Noel has been medically cleared to play, and while Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com hears he could make his NBA debut in four to six weeks, Sixers coach Brett Brown says there’s no such timetable, and that he still may sit out the season, notes Tom Moore of Calkins Media (Twitter link).
Conversely, Jason Richardson says there’s a “good chance” he’ll come back from injury to play for the Sixers this season, Moore tweets.
The Sixers recalled Lorenzo Brown from the D-League today, one day after sending him down, the team announced via Twitter. He had 22 points and eight assists for the Delaware 87ers last night.
Rajon Rondo‘s brief trip to the D-League today didn’t involve any travel, as the Maine Red Claws came to the Celtics practice facility in Waltham, Massachusetts, to practice with him, as Chris Mannix of SI.com explains (on Twitter).

Celtics Recall Rajon Rondo From D-League

January 15th, 2014 at 1:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:25pm: The team has recalled Rondo, according to a press release, meaning the assignment lasted less than two hours, apparently just long enough for him to get in the workout that Ainge referred to.

11:28am: The Celtics have assigned Rajon Rondo to the D-League, the team announced. The move had been rumored in recent weeks, but it nonetheless represents one of the most high-profile assignments in the history of the D-League.

“Rajon is progressing terrifically in his rehab and this is the next step,” GM Danny Ainge said in a statement. “This is a brief assignment so that Rajon can participate in a workout this afternoon with the Red Claws and he will be called back up to the Celtics upon the conclusion of the workout.”

Rondo tore his right ACL last season, but he appears close to returning to the Celtics. Boston agreed to trade Jordan Crawford, who had been playing the point in Rondo’s absence, as part of a three-team swap today.

The move required Rondo’s approval, as well as that of the union, since NBA teams can only unilaterally send down players with less than three years of experience. Rondo, a veteran of seven seasons, initially proposed the idea of the assignment, so it doesn’t sound as if the Celtics faced too much difficulty in making it happen. Still, Rondo probably won’t appear in a game for the Maine Red Claws, and will instead just practice with the club, as Amar’e Stoudemire did with the Knicks’ affiliate last season.

Odds & Ends: Salaries, Rondo, Hickson

January 13th, 2014 at 2:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA’s highest paid players used to dominate the list of the top earners in team sports, but no longer. Eight Major League Baseball players have deals that give them average annual salaries within the top 10 among all athletes in North American team sports, according to Liz Mullen and David Broughton of the SportsBusiness Journal (subscription only). Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony are the other two on that list. It’s a reversal from 2000, when eight NBA players were among the top 10 on those rankings, while two baseball players took up the other spots.

“The NBA players union has failed to protect the rights of the top players in the league,” agent Arn Tellem said. “Collective bargaining has proved totally ineffectual.”

It might help matters if the National Basketball Players Association were able to fill its vacant executive director position. They missed out on another target for the post when Blazers president Larry Miller turned them down, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reported this weekend. While we wait to see who they wind up with, here’s more from the NBA:

Celtics GM Danny Ainge has consistently batted down Rajon Rondo trade rumors, but there’s an “increasing belief” around the league that Ainge will seek to trade the point guard for multiple assets, as Chad Ford writes in his “tank rank” piece for ESPN Insider.
J.J. Hickson is leaving agent Andy Miller of ASM Sports and will soon hire a new representative, tweets Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post.
ASVEL Villeurbanne of France has released former Clippers and Jazz point guard Travis Leslie, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).
If Jordan Hill plays in 11 more games this year and averages at least 14.1 minutes per contest over the season, he’ll trigger an incentive clause worth $63,600, notes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Hill is averaging 20.2 MPG so far.

Atlantic Notes: Stevens, Nets, Rondo, Sixers

January 3rd, 2014 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

For one night, at least, NBA basketball in New York experienced a revival. The Knicks went into San Antonio and upset the Spurs, while the Nets did the same to the Thunder in Oklahoma City. Of course, it wasn’t supposed to be such a stretch for either team to pull off such victories, but in a Murphy’s Law sort of season for both Big Apple franchises, Thursday evening provided a rare taste of success. Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

The success that Brad Stevens is having with the Celtics this year is helping change the perception that college coaches are a poor fit in the NBA, while making it harder for veteran NBA coaches to find work in the league, notes Sam Smith of Bulls.com.
It may seem like an ideal situation for an owner to hire an experienced GM and then step out of the way, but Mikhail Prokhorov’s absence this season has added to a sense of disorganization for the Nets, opines Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Rajon Rondo told reporters yesterday, including Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, that he continues to get closer to returning to the court, and that he’s very open to the idea of a stint with the D-League’s Maine Red Claws. “I think that’s what it’s for,” Rondo said. “I’d probably be the first guy to do that, but it doesn’t make a difference. I want to make sure I’m healthy and handle it the right way. I haven’t had a preseason. I haven’t had a training camp. Right now, this is pretty much my training camp.”
Tom Ziller of SBNation.com examines the Sixers‘ accelerated rebuilding process, which could see the team make the playoffs as soon as next season.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, J.R. Smith, Rondo

January 2nd, 2014 at 7:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Raptors are 9-3 following the Rudy Gay trade, with impressive wins over the Thunder and the Pacers, who are tied for the best record in the NBA. It’s easy to portray last month’s trade of Gay to the Kings as addition by subtraction for Toronto, but that’s not how DeMar DeRozan sees it, as Eric Koreen of the National Post notes.

“You really can’t say that,” DeRozan said. “People will speculate and say this, that and the third about the trade. One thing: We still had a lot of talent before the trade. Things just weren’t clicking. We didn’t play a full season and figure it all out, either. This is our team now, and we’re steadily learning and growing every day.”

Koreen is skeptical that the departure of the statistically inefficient small forward hasn’t helped the team during its recent stretch, pointing to the improved play of DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas since the trade. Regardless, the Raptors have reached the .500 mark, putting them in command of a weak Atlantic Division. Here’s more from the Atlantic:

J.R. Smith says he’s gotten over his frustration with the Knicks for waiving his brother, and that he’s “ready to go to war” with Jeremy Tyler, who replaced Chris Smith on the roster, observes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
It was Rajon Rondo who first proposed the idea of sending him down to the D-League, Celtics GM Danny Ainge said today on 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com passes along. It’s unclear whether the point guard will play for Boston’s D-League affiliate this season, but Ainge said he supports the notion of teams sending star players on rehab assignments.
Celtics assistant coach Ron Adams shared his bitterness about Bulls GM Gar Forman‘s decision to let him go this past offseason with K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. “It’s still a bit mystifying to me,” Adams said. “And I don’t understand it. And if the intent was to be hurtful to me and my family, it succeeded.” The Celtics were one of a half-dozen teams with interest in Adams when Forman elected not to renew his contract, the sort of decision that usually rests with a team’s head coach.

Rajon Rondo Could Spend Time In D-League

December 30th, 2013 at 6:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Rajon Rondo practiced again with the Celtics on Monday and is slowly returning to basketball shape. However, he could take a pit stop elsewhere in New England before rejoining the C’s. Coach Brad Stevens says his rehabilitation may include a stint with the team’s D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.

Stevens said Rondo likely wouldn’t return to the Celtics during their five-game West Coast road trip beginning on Jan. 5 and could spend time with Maine practicing and playing in D-League games before coming back to the varsity squad. Rondo has not played since Jan. 25 because of a torn right ACL.

“I would make that a decision on him and our staff,” Stevens said following today’s practice. “That is something that has been discussed, probably some positives and negatives to that, but at the end of the day, it is an option as part of his rehabilitation.”

Stevens’ former point guard at Butler, Ronald Nored, is a player development coach in Maine and he and Rondo have discussed the possibility of Rondo spending some time there. Stevens acknowledged that having Nored there to help ease Rondo back in could be a positive.

The Celtics have not used their D-League affiliate for rehabilitation over the past few years and the last regular to see a stint there was Avery Bradley during his rookie season. Stevens says that he envisions the D-League being used more for rehab assignments going forward, similar to how baseball teams use their farm system to bring players back into the fold.

No Trades Or Coaching Changes for Knicks?

December 27th, 2013 at 1:35pm CST by Jonathan Nehring

1:35pm: The Knicks front office remains in active pursuit of trades and is making contingency plans in the event Woodson is fired, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Isola figures Dolan felt compelled to meet with the team to quell internal speculation about potential changes ahead. In any case, the future of the Knicks appears to remain shrouded in mystery.

11:15am: Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports that Knicks chairman James Dolan told players yesterday morning that there will be no trades or changes in the coaching staff. Stein says the meeting was held by Dolan to convince the players to come together behind head coach Mike Woodson and his plan to “win [the Atlantic Division]”.

The Knicks have started the season 9-19 which has created many rumors that Woodson would be the first NBA coach fired this season and be without a job as early as this weekend. They have also been included in many trade rumors including a trade for Toronto’s Kyle Lowry, and a trade for Boston’s Rajon Rondo. Knicks players considered to be trade candidates so far this season included Iman Shumpert, Carmelo Anthony, and Metta World Peace.

Time, and the Knicks’ place in the standings, will tell whether Dolan sticks with this plan. The trade deadline which would force the Knicks to stick to this plan is Thursday, February 20th.