It dawned on me last night watching the game... We set the season high in team assists last night. With ray out you did NOT see rondo top of the key waiting for ray to run off multiple screens to get the ball with 8 seconds left on the shot clock. Ball moved freely... I'm not overreacting when I say start pietrus..

Rondo > curry

Next year this team is getting blown up regardless. I love Rondo, hes so entertaining but the writing is on the wall. Danny does NOT want to build around Rondo for the future. To be as positive about the situation as possible, Pau would give us a good advantage size wise over any team in the East

I'm saying Chicago gets him.. An offer of Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, and another young player and draft picks? THat would get it done and pair him with Boozer and Rose, damn.

Sources say this is sign and trade with Jermaine O'Neal and "another player". If we can manage to hold on to Jeff Green in this deal we made out really well.. Could be a nice piece to convice Dwight to come here too, Front court of Dwight, David West, and Pierce, WIth Rondo running the show would look fantastic

Yeah this brings up all sorts of other issues with the league going forward. I understand they finished the CBA today to avoid situations just like this one but how can you really keep a team from getting what they can for a guy who is absolutely leaving at the end of the season? On the other hand, if they are required to play out the season, and with the cap situations of LA and NY (with the Tyson Chandler deal) there would not be much competition from big markets teams to offer max money to Dwight or CP or Deron Williams besides us and new jersey.

Dooling is such a Doc type of guy. Lanky hard nosed defender will be a good fit here.

This puts us back into contention for him. ESPN reports that Lakers execs were unsure about the deal because they were giving up 2 of their 3 bigs and getting none in return. They had reservations and the league didn't want this deal either. Means that only other deal out there worth anything to Hornets would be our deal.

The Celtics will most likely acquire Chris Paul. Danny knows what he's doing and can make something work. No other team wants him unless he signs long term which he won't do anywhere because of new CBA. Lakers will offer Bynum for Dwight so Hornets will have to take our offer. I just hope we can somehow convince him to stay since we will be able to offer more money than anyone else next year.

Yeah this is not about getting rid of Rondo, it's about desperately trying to get Chris Paul. But at what price? This is beginning to sound like Danny has tunnel vision and willing to do anything to RENT Chris Paul. I have "lukewarm" interest in that.

I feel like Danny and Doc MUST have some sort of assurance behind the scenes that they can get these guys to commit and play here. First odd thing in my opinion was the fact Doc agreed to a 5 year deal when he could have walked last year nad coached anywhere in the league he wanted. How did Danny get him to commit to 5 years? Danny must be up to something. Maybe the trade last year for Green was for this reason? He would be a nice added piece in a package to offer to Paul and then they make the run for Dwight? If Dwight goes to the lakers Paul walks at the end of this season but maybe that's a risk Danny is willing to take.

I understand that we probably over rate Rondo a little bit here but I'm seriously blown away by the fact that GMs covet Steph Curry over Rondo. I really think Rondo is a clear cut top 5 PG in the league. Curry? Not so much. Also, this whole Chris Paul rent a player idea makes me pretty nervous. Trading Rondo AND Jeff Green (which is basically all our young talent) for a a player who probably won't be here after the year is so risky. On the other hand this really is our only chance to get players of that caliber. Boston just is not respected around the league for a Free Agent destination when we're competing against NY and LA and Brooklyn, players don't want to come here unless Danny gets a trade done.

It's hard to say. I'm sure Danny thinks about it. Your in rebuild mode after this season anyway, the chance to get Chris Paul here and get a feel for the city and organization/coaching staff, upgrade your team for this year, and have even more cap space for a great free agent class next year? It's at least enticing. I'd be open to the possibility, and you could offer CP3 more money (I think, if new CBA is similar) than other teams when hes a free agent and still have money to get Dwight Howard here.

Thatts the second hurdle.. obviously there are more attractive destinations out there than Boston Danny needs to just focus on getting an agreed deal in place then Danny and doc can speak with cp3 about the future of this franchise. Obviously the potential of dwight signing is huge but not a strong enough selling point alone

Mark Cuban was at Tavern in the Square in Allston tonight (yes I know very Random spot to see him) Had a chance to say hi to him, he said he was trying to get Paul Pierce on the Mavs.. Could danny be working a deal here? Complete shot in the dark cause I couldn't tell if he was joking or not but worth keeping in mind

I think what is a much more feasible situation would be non-guaranteed contracts and a franchise tag. Those are both things that will most likely be put into place.

There will be major changes to this league no doubt about that. My only question is that if the hard cap is put into place, are players and owners going to need to renegotiate their contracts? Because a $45million hard cap would mean between Wade, James, and Bosh they are at the hard cap already with 3 players. The Celtics situation would mean between Rondo ($11mil) and Pierce ($15mil) we are looking at $26 of the $45 with those 2 players. This labor situation is going to get a lot more ugly than the NFL's situation.

Great news. Good for him financially as well, should be pretty happy inking your name on that line! I think this is a great step having Doc here, he really is a great draw for potential free agents IMO.

The miscommunication to end regulation really sealed it. These guys had nothing left in the tank. Rondo is playing with one arm, all the other stars are just worn down at this point. We basically gave this game away but the sad thing is we really could not afford to do so. Winning this series seems like a VERY daunting task now, my heart says we can do it but my head is screaming it's over. We are getting ZERO contributions from Big Baby, he's getting basically no PT at this point. Rondo on one arm giving all he can, Paul is playing well but we don't have enough behind him if KG disappears like he did tonight. We all know this team has too much pride to go to Miami and mail it in but I think it's gonna be near impossible from here on out.

All the idiots screaming to trade Rondo in the offseason after the first two games... This is the stuff that got this kid his contract, he's got the biggest heart on the court and wants to win more than anybody. Wishing Rajon a speedy recover and hopefully he can contribute going forward.

The Heat won their TWO home games to start the series. We need to go hold serve at home as well. The amount of people jumping off the bandwagon makes me sick. You people should not even consider yourselves fans already screaming to shop Rondo in the offseason? Game 3 is Saturday, win at home like you should and are fully capable of doing and then move on to the next game. It's not like the Heat are unbeatable or the Celtics suddenly forgot how to win ball games. They are proven and experienced, the sense of urgency will be there and they will fight to the end. I cannot believe what I am reading its pathetic

I'm surprised at how many people are writing this team off based on last night. I am frustrated with Rondo and nervous about his matchup with Rose, but from what we have seen over the past few seasons when the playoffs come Rondo kicks it into a whole new gear. That is what drives this team, he was the driving force behind us beating the cavaliers last year and will be the driving force with us getting by Miami this year. Chicago is going to be one hell of a battle but I still like our chances in a 7 game series. The more frustrating part about last night to me was our playoff seeding against LA. We need to get HCA over LA and last night was crucial for that.

Once again Rose torches Rondo, only PG in the league that Rondo simply cannot check. Rondo was literally scared driving to the rim and throwing up weak layups because Rose plays him so well offensively and defensively. Thats the problem because we all know this team goes as Rondo goes... This was probably one of the more frustrating games of the season tonight. They win tonight they have a good shot at the #1 seed AND stay with Lakers for the better record too which to me is so crucial and no one is talking about that

Nice column John, I'm liking this!! It's amazing how this album still is relevant today, whether it came out 15 years ago or released last week it would still be platinum over and over because biggie's music just like pac's was timeless