Rajon Rondo Trade: Grading The Deal For Both Sides
By Evan Massey
What grade do both the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics get for their side of the latest NBA blockbuster deal involving Rajon Rondo?
The Boston Celtics have finally traded star point guard Rajon Rondo, and the Dallas Mavericks were more than happy to take him off of their hands. Mark Cuban has been looking to make another splash since signing Chandler Parsons, and this is exactly the type of move that they needed. Rondo will add a lot to the Mavericks, and will fill two areas that they desperately needed.
So what grade do both sides get for their hauls? First of all lets take a look at what the entire trade was.
Dallas Mavericks Grade: B+
The Dallas Mavericks may not have everyone on board with this move, but they acquired a point guard that will bring the skills that they needed. Rondo hasn’t had a great scoring season at all this year, averaging 8.3 points per game, but the 6’1″ point guard out of Louisville, Kentucky is more than capable of racking up assists, grabbing rebounds, and playing defense.
Rondo has averaged 10.8 assists, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game, and at the age of 28 he still has plenty of good basketball left in him. There have been some concerns about his surgically repaired knee after tearing his ACL and coming back last year, but he is showing night in and night out that those concerns are in the past.
Dallas has been giving up 102.7 points per game to opponents this year, and Rondo’s pesky perimeter defense will certainly help in that area. As for what he will bring on the offensive end of the floor, the Mavericks are getting one of the best ball-handlers and playmakers in the entire league. He may not be able to score at a high level, but he can dish out and make his teammates better around him.
This trade without question makes the Mavericks one of the favorites to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. They were already a legitimate contender before making this trade, but adding the playmaking and defense that Rondo brings will take them to a new level. It was a necessary trade for them to make, and they made the right move despite having to give up a couple solid players.
Boston Celtics Grade: C
While they did get back a couple solid players in Jae Crowder and Brandan Wright, they still weren’t able to get the return that they should have gotten. Rondo is a franchise caliber point guard, and they got back a pick that isn’t going to be good at all and two role players.
It is amazing how fast Rondo’s trade value dropped, as most teams around the league were pulling out from trying to acquire Rondo due to the price being too high just a few short months ago.
Boston ended up trading their franchise player and a star that they were still considering building around for role players and a poor pick. Wright is a solid piece, but he hasn’t been tested in much more than a bench role. So far this season with Dallas he has played in 18.7 minutes per game, and has averaged 8.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. Those numbers are a nice pickup, but they aren’t anything close to being worth a franchise point guard.
Crowder on the other hand is a bench piece at best, averaging 3.6 points and 1.2 rebounds per game this year. Nelson will likely be a candidate to be bought out, as he won’t want to play in the rebuilding process that is currently going on in Boston.
A Final Look At The Trade
Obviously this isn’t quite the “blockbuster” that many were expecting it to be, but the Celtics are happy with the return that they have received. Dallas is getting the best player in the deal by far, but Boston got a couple solid pieces for the future and a pick. It’s hard to give the Celtics any kind of solid grade, but the Mavericks are coming away with a steal.
Dallas immediately jumped into legitimate title contention when they added Rondo to the roster, and Cuban is extremely thrilled to acquire another star to put alongside his current core.