I don't think the Mavs got much better. Sure, they gained a playmaker and more defense, but they lost outside shooting losing Nelson and lost great inside depth in Wright. I say the Mavs simply robbed Peter to pay Paul. There is no net gain for them.
I understand the sentiment that Rondo isn't great for the Rockets. But to say he is only a minor upgrade over Jameer Nelson is just....
Rondo increase their defense on the PG's, but losing wright is not looked at by most.. That's a big decrease in defense in the paint, Chandler is now alone.
You can tell who is clueless on the current Rondo. Shooting 25% from 3 and 33% from the Free Throw line....and saying he's still good defensively...he has been BAD defensively.
I hear you, but it's not just Nelson. Wright is shooting over 75% and blocking 1.5 shots per game. His PER is a ridiculous 26 while only playing 19 minutes/game. Teams can more easily double Dirk and Monte with Rondo's guy because there's no threat of his making outside shots. The Mavs' gain in totality is only marginal IMO, if any at all. We'll see...
I think they stayed about the same. Didn't improve n didn't get any worse. Rondo might be a great distributor, but terrible shooter. That spacing after the trade. YIKES. Monta has never been known to be a good shooter and now you pair that up with Rondo. Now they don't have depth. Team with Big lineups in west, Pretty much everyone, will abuse their back up PF n C. Also, Rondo isn't going to magically make monta, dirk, and parson into elite defenders. Him and Tyson can't alone carry this team defensively and thats considering rondo being a good defender like everyone assumes he still pre-injury rondo.
Don't get why people are so hostile to rondo... Would he have been a good fit here? Nope, doesn't fit in with harden. Is he a great fit with the mavs, absolutely. Improves their defense and playmaking. Both of the opinions can coexist, they don't have to be mutually exclusive. A hidden gem from this trade is that parsons is now the 4th option on his team!
A highly motivated Rondo will be a deadly player. If the team doesn't implode, I can see them really contending for a ring this year.
