Where's Rondo Going?

Full disclosure: I’ve never been a  huge fan of Rajon Rondo’s game.  

While I respect his athleticism and feel that when healthy he may be the fastest man in the NBA from baseline to baseline … I just don’t like investing in a point that can’t shoot.

That’s my personal bias.

Rondo was considered mediocre (at best) during his rookie year before the acquisitions of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.  

Being surrounded by three hall of famers definitely opened up driving lanes and allowed him to even dominate games – because so much attention was being paid to 3 other positions.

If Rondo had spent his career in Denver or with the Clippers and had career averages of 11 and 8, people would say he was a “nice player”, but certainly not a superstar – or a max money player as he allegedly believes he is.

All that being said, Rondo does offer the unique ability to throw tight pocket passes and run the pick and roll.

Earlier today, news broke that Rondo wanted to be moved from the Boston Celtics – which of course begs the question, where will he end up?

Rondo wants to play for a contender or at the very least, a team on the upswing that is nearing the end of a rebuild.

A team acquiring Rondo should:

•           be heavily influenced with veterans who can keep his monstrous ego in check
•           have a coach that understands how to best utilize him, and how to hide his glaring weakness
•           have another point guard on the team who CAN shoot
•      a big with great hands that can finish in traffic and help Rondo rack up the assists

So, here are Rondo's top six options:

Houston Rockets:  The Rockets are perennial contenders, but haven’t had a dominant star point guard since … well, since ever.

Names like Kenny The Jet, John Lucas Jr, Sam Cassell, Aaron Brooks and Stevie “The most selfish man alive” Francis top the list of the best lead guards in that franchise’s history. 

They seemingly had that man when Kyle Lowry was in town, but battles with management had him branded as an asshole, and they shipped him out of town. 

They thought they were getting that backcourt igniter when they  acquired Jermey Lin, but that didn’t unfold the way they had hoped. 

No matter how good Dwight Howard and James Harden are in the half court, unless they have a 1 that can really control the pace, they won’t be advancing much further than the first round exist that had each of the last two seasons. 

No disrespect to Patrick Beverley.  He’s a nice player, but he’d be better served with more controlled minutes.

The Detroit Pistons have the enigmatic (and often under-performing) Brandon Jennings and their new piece – the savior of the Chicago Bulls 2014 season – DJ Augustin. 

If Augustin can reproduce his performance with the Bulls last season, he will be a valuable piece for Stan Van Gundy. 

With disgruntled forward Josh Smith under contract, it would seemingly make sense to send a package of Smith and Jennings for Rondo and another piece to make the money work.

Detroit had visions of a playoff run last season, but their 3 headed front court monster never really developed the way they had hoped, so it’s time to end that experiment and go with what has always served the Pistons best; dominant guard play.

Indiana Pacers.  In the minds of many George Hill is not the star guard he was once made out to be.  Hill struggled in large spots each of the last two seasons and has gone from “promising young star” to “the fifth guy on the floor”.

With Paul George out for the season, and Lance Stephenson running off to the Hornet hive, the Pacers are in desperate need of more athleticism and scoring.

Rondo could be that man, but the biggest question is what would the Pacers have to deal?  They’d love to unload Roy Hibbert, and Boston might think they can rejuvenate the big man, but if they unloaded Hibbert then David West becomes the number one option for Rondo down low?

West has had a solid career, but he is noticeably slowing down.

LA Lakers.  Let’s just say it.  The Steve Nash experiment was a colossal freaking disaster.  For an entire generation, the Lakers have relied on a dominant two guard (you know who), and a combination of different forwards who dominated to varying degrees.

During all of their highs and lows, they haven’t had an all star point guard since Gary Payton’s retirement tour of 2003. 

While the Lakers are in a rebuilding mode, and are in the treacherous Western Conference, they seem to have  more pieces than the Celtics do.  Perhaps the lore of the purple and gold would be enough to motivate Rajon.

The Sacramento Kings shocked everyone when they let young scoring point guard Isiah Thomas walk.

Their management group truly feels that with Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins and company,  that they have the makings of a young upstart that will push the heavyweights to the limit. 

The question is, are they close enough to make a big play for a guy like Rondo, and would he be enough to move them into the playoff picture?

The New York Knicks do not look like a playoff team right now – even with their off season moves.

With a rookie head coach, and a group of massive egos that are somewhat dysfunctional, it could be a powder keg with Rondo playing the part of fuse.

Or, pairing him with veteran Jose Calderon (a prolific three point shooter) might be the perfect combination.  What Caldeon lacks in speed, Rondo could more than make up for – and Jose can shoot the lights out if teams start to sag on Rajon.

If Derek Fisher used a two guard front – they could be a deadly offensive tandem. 

When he was with the Celtics, Doc Rivers was a huge fan of Calderon’s and would talk about what a great fit he would have been for their team.  Certainly Doc was thinking along these same lines.

While this could all be nothing more than premature internet babble and Rondo could work things out with the C's, it seems clear that both sides would be happy to accommodate

a change.

Where do you think Rajon will end up this season?