Rajon Rondo will be a free agent this summer, and the line for his services will be extremely long. The biggest question that will need to be answered, is where does the mercurial point guard fit best.
One NBA executive told Chris Mannix of SI.com that “Rondo’s best option may be to remain in Boston.”
“I don’t know how high it is. He is a free agent at the end of the year. A team that trades for him will have half a season to convince him to stay. He has to be in a city that he wants to be in. If he didn’t get hurt last year his value would have been higher then. A team would have had a year and a half and convince him to stay. And I don’t know how many teams truly need a starting point guard. Houston needs one. The Lakers. But if you’re the Lakers, why would you give up anything for him now when you can try to sign him this summer?”
I don’t think Rondo is a max guy, but he is close to it. I’m not huge on point guards getting max deals. Derrick Rose is a max player. Max guys have to be able to carry a team. If you are the best player, you have to be able to carry the team into the playoffs. I don’t think he does that. He’s a facilitator. Look, he is a really, really great player. But I think he has to be surrounded by the right pieces. Boston might be the right place for him. I think Rondo and Marcus Smart can play together. Neither can shoot but defensively they are relentless. Smart can cover any two in the league. And I don’t think Smart is great as a point guard. I think he is more of a two-guard to be honest with you. He doesn’t have great vision as a point guard. But if you throw Rondo, Smart and Avery Bradley in a rotation, that’s the best defensive backcourt in the league.
Rondo is smart and versatile to fit in on just about any team in the league. Organizations will have to determine if they want to give Rondo a max deal, along with accepting all the baggage he brings along.