But since Bass and Rondo are expiring it'd only be for this upcoming season though right? Unless they plan to resign Bass to a long term deal, that could drop back under it I would think. Does going over the tax this coming year have any major negative impact for us?
Not really, les just has to pay money. I don't think we drop under tax line either, I'd also imagine we'd re-sign bass and use our MLE, BAE next off season, and unless Dmo has a breakout season or we find someone better in FA, Bass is a quality PF who fits with Howard, you just let him walk when were trying to win. This is just completely a hypothetical though, its silly to go over salary cap with players we haven't even traded for, there's so many things that can happen, or not happen, like a Rondo trade in the first place, but i'm bored and will do so anyways lol Next off season the luxury tax is projected to be at 81 million. Les say we re-sign rondo for 15 a year (completely hypothetical). Howard 22.4 Harden 15.8 Rondo 15 Ariza 8.2 Marion 4.7 Motiejunas 2.3 O'Neal 2.1 Dorsey 1.1 Canaan .950 Daniels .950 Johnson .600? that's 74 million, lets say we re-sign Bass for around 4 million, use our full MLE and BAE again for even more roster improvements, then we'd be over the tax again. There is ways to dodge under though, by not re-signing Bass or not using the full MLE possibly.
I care what my eyes and analytics say, especially when they agree. Rubio is better defensively at this stage of their careers. Rubio deflects and steals passes more frequently. Rubio draws way more fouls and knocks down the freebies. No, doesn't finish as well as Rondo. But he gets the fouls and knocks down his freebies. The difference in their FTr's is astounding. Rubio is the better 3-point shooter. And still has 5 years to surpass Rondo. They aren't the same player. They are the same kind of player, playmaker/distributors from the PG position.
He's already been in the league for 5 years. How much improvement do you realistically expect? In any case, it's much easier to play him alongside a complementary pg than it is to expect him to significantly improve his game.
For the last time, Harden will be forced into the role of a off ball scorer, which is better for him and this team. If we get Rondo, ask Howard, Ariza, Bass (if we indeed traded for him), Daniels, Motiejunas who they would want handling and passing the ball. I guarantee you, they will say Rondo over Harden 10 times out of 10. You don't acquire and elite passer and decision maker to sit on the 3pt line like and idiot jacking 3's all day like you keep thinking and saying. Harden will be standing on the 3pt line jacking 3's, Harden will be coming off the screen for the jumper, Harden will be spotting up, Harden will be cutting to the basket for the assisted layup, NOT Rondo. Rondo will become the primary ball handler. Rondo would do wonder setting up Howard, Harden, Ariza and Daniels.
He's developed and getting better. Can't shoot and Rondo can? Look at their 3-point percentages. And remember Rubio is 23. Can't score near the basket? Look at his FTr and his FT%. Rubio is nasty crafty. Down the stretch it's a parade to the FT line with him and Harden. Rubio may not be a max player at this point. But the very most we would have to shell out to keep him would be the 4-year max with 4.5% raises if we put him through RFA. Rondo, on the other hand, is set up to score a 5-year max deal for somewhere around $105-$110 million if we plan to re-sign him. That's a lotta dough compared to Rubio for 4 years and around $66-68 million.
He's been in the league for three years. He was drafted five years ago. On March 9, 2012, Rubio tore his ACL and his lateral collateral ligament (thank you, wikipedia). So he's probably played two full seasons, with some of that time needed to get back from a serious injury. Do I think he's the answer here? Who knows. Anyway, it would all depend on whether Morey believes Dan Fegan to be the anti-Christ. (And Fegan's asking for the max for this client as well.)
I'd bet money (if I were a betting man) that the last place Fegan wants Rubio to be traded to is Houston. He knows Morey would run Rubio through RFA and they might not even get the max.
Did Asik, a superior player to Jones, compliment Dwight? No, traded. Did Lin who was starting, compliment Harden? No, moved to bench. We paid Dwight and Harden max contracts, we should build a team best to compliment them so that they can best utilize their abilities. Like they said, we will only go as far as they take us. Rondo doesn't really run a fast break offense. Good D but not a great 3 point shooter which is what we need to surround Dwight with. Rondo is one of the best playmakers but Harden can also create plays so having a dominant passing pg isn't extremely important. Dwight and Harden also play a lot of iso ball. I'm not against getting Rondo, I just wanted to list the reasons as to why he may not be the best fit as it seems most of you are just throwing this out the window.
Based on what? When have we ever seen him as an off-the-ball scorer? And then ask them who they want shooting open shots. I guarantee you, they'll say any perimeter player on our roster over Rondo 10 times out of 10. And you don't acquire a pg who can't shoot when you have a ball-dominant, star shooting guard. Is Harden known for off the ball movement and running around screens? Is he known for cutting to the basket for layups?
Yep, all Morey wants are teammates who flatter the stars. No more. We need people to stop complimenting Dwight and Harden and call them out when appropriate. We can start complimenting them when they get out of the first round.
Neither Asik or Lin are anywhere near the player Rondo is, neither are elite passers. That was just the Celtics, Rondo will have no problem running a fast break We have Ariza, harden, Daniels, Canaan, Motiejunas, we have shooter, and can always sign more, we do not have a elite passer, which will benefit Howard way more then another shooter on this team IMO. Harden is no where near an elite passer, it's asking really too much for him to have to create EVERYTHING on offense too, his body will crumble to pieces if we keep having him create every offensive play out of his ass every single game. Thats a problem, that needs to fixed, Rondo fixes it.
Basketballholic, I am often appreciative of your posts but I've got to disagree with you on this one. Assuming Rondo is healthy (which is a risky assumption), I would take Rondo over Rubio any day. You complain about _ones' inability to shoot jumpers, but he's had about half the time that Rubio has to develop his jumper (I know, they don't play the same position, but if after 4 years Rubio should have really gotten better). I'm sure you've seen Kirk Goldberry's shot charts for Rondo and Rubio. Aside from 3-point shooting, Rondo is actually a pretty effective shotmaker. Rubio can't hit the side of a barn, even at the basket, if I recall correctly. Rubio is scared silly to take shots, and people completely fall off him to dare him to shoot. Add to that, he's repped by Fegan and will demand a max contract (which is nowhere close to earning). At least with Rondo he is a threat from two-point range. My recollection from the stats is that Rubio is way below league average, even for layups. No thank you to Rubio. I might think he's reasonable at $6-8M because he is very good in other areas, but no where near the price range Fegan is asking. I'm not even comparing him to Love; I'm comparing him to end-of-the bench basketball players who can shoot better than him. I'm partially convinced that MN couldn't close games because Rubio can't shoot so his defenders sag off.
You missed the point. We aren't going to chase players whose games don't complement Howard/Harden's. You missed the point again. It's not about having shooters on the roster. It's about having shooters on the floor. If Rondo is on the floor, he'll get open looks. And he won't make them. We also run our offense through Dwight.
I'm not saying he has to and I'm not saying we don't need a pg at all but Harden is naturally a pretty good playmaker. He averaged 6 assists per game this past season so can take some burden off a point guard who isn't necessarily a great of a passer as Rondo. Also, like I said, Harden and Dwight don't need a good pg to get their shots. The best fit was Lowry. Nelson would've been a nice consolation prize.
RONDO WON'T BE SHOOTING, He'l be passing to the shooters. Are you seriously not understanding that? Yes you do, our SG shouldn't be forced to run the offense, his job is to score, Rondo's will be to pass. Watch VERY closely... <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/BHyDeckCAbQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Do you see how most of his points are assisted? Yes Harden can create his own, but whats best for him, his body, this team, is for him to start scoring more off the ball instead of ISO all the damn time.
