Boston Celtics: For Rajon Rondo, Patience Must Be a Virtue
For the first time in his career, Rajon Rondo is now a part of a full rebuild. Will he be patient enough to stick around and wait for Boston to rise again? Photo Credit: Mark Runyon, Basketball Schedule
Rajon Rondo has done nothing but win the minute he became an NBA starting point guard. After a rookie year which saw the Celtics basically go into the tank in attempt to land either Greg Oden or Kevin Durant in the 2007 NBA Draft, Boston was able to quickly retool in a different way, swinging trades for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett and assembling an overnight contender. Surrounded by All-Stars, Rondo took the keys and helped Boston raise a banner in just his second year as a professional basketball player. The Celtics have been as stable a sports franchise as any in every year since; becoming a model of consistency and a staple in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Now, entering the 2013-14 season, things have changed for both Rajon Rondo and the Boston Celtics. Doc Rivers, arguably the game’s best coach, is now out west hoping to help the Los Angeles Clippers reach new heights. Gone are the days when Rondo could rely on Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to leave it all on the floor every single night. Now? When Rondo returns from his partially-torn ACL and brings that signature high-dribble across the half-court line, he’ll be staring at the likes of Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries and Kelly Olynyk. Yeesh.
For a player as headstrong as Rajon Rondo is, this could be a bit of a culture shock. When the losing starts (and they’ll be PLENTY of losing for this squad next season), it’ll be interesting to see how Boston’s notoriously “moody” 27-year-old point guard reacts. For competitors at this level, particularly those accustomed to winning, this type of change can become unbearable and lead to an extremely awkward situation. But for Rondo, biting the bullet and accepting change could eventually pay off in a big way.
Think back to that lost season for the Celtics in 2006-07. The Celtics were a team that needed all kinds of help, with a superstar in Paul Pierce that had won early on in his career and was now stuck on an also-ran. Pierce, undoubtedly frustrated by all the losing, remained a model citizen for the Celtics despite dealing with some injury issues and the fact that the Celts were among the worst teams in the NBA. For Pierce, patience payed off. General manager Danny Ainge was able to convert his many assets into a ready-made contender and Pierce is now a champion, a beloved legend in the city of Boston and considered one of the greatest players in Celtics history.
The situation going forward for Rajon Rondo is almost identical to Pierce’s back in 2007. In the same vein as that team, this Celtic roster was not put together to win basketball games; it is merely a collection of moveable assets. The time came for Boston to turn the page on what had been a terrific run and Ainge chose to be proactive about it. For Rondo, it might be in his best interests to take a page out of Paul Pierce’s book. Although Rondo may have been the best player on the Celtics for the last few seasons, this was still the Pierce/Garnett era. Now, the Boston Celtics finally belong to Rajon Rondo.
Rondo has the talent to be a player the Celtics can rebuild their entire roster around. He is one of the league’s elite point guards and was leading the NBA in assists by a fairly wide margin before getting hurt this past season. He is consistently disruptive on defense and has developed a fiery, competitive edge from playing with the likes of KG and Pierce that few in the league can match. At age 27, he is already a winner and a champion. But does he have the mental toughness to deal with the rigors of playing on an inferior team for a season? Two? Possibly beyond? Eventually, Boston will rise again. If Rajon Rondo is still a part of the equation when the Celtics raise another banner, he could have a similar legacy to the many Boston Celtic greats that came before him.