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[Smokeeye123]

No but a Rondo Smith core with a GOOD center would. Maybe a Dalembert type of guy.

[LarBrd33]

Playoff team? Yes.

Championship Team? Who else is on the squad?

Green = Schrempf
Bradley = Hawkins
Sullinger = Sam Perkins
Rondo = Payton
Smith = Kemp

The 1995-96 Seattle SuperSonics were two wins away from World Title against the greatest player ever in Michael Jordan.

Interesting.  Not that it needs saying but if Sully becomes Perkins (esp. given the surgery) and Green becomes Schrempf (Schrepf was dang good), I'll be pretty happy.

I think that, as others have said, it's all about who else they have.    Neither Smith nor Rondo are MJ, Shaq, Larry or Magic.  With Sully, Green, Bradley playing key roles, I think they still need another stud to be top tier.  One who can shoot a free throw.

I think Payton was far better than Rondo and Kemp in his prime was far more dominant than Smith.  Schrempf was one of the best shooters of all time.

If those two were our best players and KG and Pierce retired, we'd struggle to even make the playoffs.  I say 35-45 wins.

[Donoghus]

Playoff team?  Yes.

Contender?  Probably not.  You better make sure you get some offensive minded individuals in there. 

[CelticConcourse]

If you say no, I don't think we can EVER win one.

[Mr October]

No. They would need a legit number 1 scoring option.

[crimson_stallion]

As much as I love those two players individually, no I don't think so.

IMHO both Rondo and Smith are secondary superstars in the mould of Scottie Pippen.  I don't feel either of those guys can cconsistently take over games offensively.  Occasionally yes, consistently no.

I believe every contender needs a go-to guy offensively who you can turn to to carry the offense and hit huge shots in the clutch.  As long as Pierce is on a basketball court we have that, which is why I still have some faith in us right now.  Once Pierce goes we will need a dominant offensive player to take his place, and until we find one we will likely struggle to get past the first round.

On the surface the Rondo / Smith duo looks great - two talented, "do a bit of everything" guys with extreme physical gifts.  On paper it would be hard to keep those guys together salary wise and still have the cash to get ourselves the offensive star AND role players  we'd need to be a contender

Much as Id love Smith, he makes more sense on a team tho already has a go-to guy and needs a secondary star who can be q second or third scoring option whole doing a bit of everything.  The Lakers (Kobe), Clippers (Paul), Knicks (Melo), Bucks (Ellis),Rockets (Harden), Bulls (Rose), Thunder (Durant) and current Celtics (Pierce), are all teams that Smith would be an outstanding fit on. For those teams he can improve them dramatically as a second or third tier scorer, a key rebounder, a defensive presence and a good playmaker in the frontcourt.

[JSD]

Worst free throw shooting team in history if they were paired.

[CelticConcourse]

Worst free throw shooting team in history if they were paired.

We're actually shooting at a rather decent clip this year (overall) but I wish we were OKC

[BballTim]

Playoff team? Yes.

Championship Team? Who else is on the squad?

Green = Schrempf
Bradley = Hawkins
Sullinger = Sam Perkins
Rondo = Payton
Smith = Kemp

The 1995-96 Seattle SuperSonics were two wins away from World Title against the greatest player ever in Michael Jordan.

Interesting.  Not that it needs saying but if Sully becomes Perkins (esp. given the surgery) and Green becomes Schrempf (Schrepf was dang good), I'll be pretty happy.

I think that, as others have said, it's all about who else they have.    Neither Smith nor Rondo are MJ, Shaq, Larry or Magic.  With Sully, Green, Bradley playing key roles, I think they still need another stud to be top tier.  One who can shoot a free throw.

I think Payton was far better than Rondo and Kemp in his prime was far more dominant than Smith.  Schrempf was one of the best shooters of all time.

If those two were our best players and KG and Pierce retired, we'd struggle to even make the playoffs.  I say 35-45 wins.

  Payton wasn't at the top of his game (career-wise) when the Sonics went to the finals. Compare his career up to the age Rondo is now http://bkref.com/tiny/wuSUX and, while they're pretty similar during the regular season, Rondo clearly has the advantage in the postseason. The year the Sonics went to the finals Payton put up 21/5/7, Rondo put up 17/7/12 last year and was putting up 17/6/11 in 2010 before he picked up an injury in the Orlando series. He's obviously capable of playing on the level Payton was at when the Sonics went to the finals (even if he's not at the level Payton was when he was 30 or so).

[Fred Roberts]

Payton was 6'4" and nasty on the Defense. The glove was bigger, tougher, stronger and probably just as fast. Rondo is smaller, and to me, a much different type of player. Rondo gets nasty once in a while but Payton was nasty 24/7/365. Great bad attitude.

Smith isn't as tall as Kemp was. He's more a fringe 3/4 to me than a true 4 like Kemp.

I'd like the Sonics duo much more, but Rondo JSmoove still sounds pretty exciting to me as well. It would certainly be fun to watch, and hopefully would translate to lots of wins with the right supporting cast.

[celtsfan84]

Playoff team? Yes.

Championship Team? Who else is on the squad?

Green = Schrempf
Bradley = Hawkins
Sullinger = Sam Perkins
Rondo = Payton
Smith = Kemp

The 1995-96 Seattle SuperSonics were two wins away from World Title against the greatest player ever in Michael Jordan.

Interesting.  Not that it needs saying but if Sully becomes Perkins (esp. given the surgery) and Green becomes Schrempf (Schrepf was dang good), I'll be pretty happy.

I think that, as others have said, it's all about who else they have.    Neither Smith nor Rondo are MJ, Shaq, Larry or Magic.  With Sully, Green, Bradley playing key roles, I think they still need another stud to be top tier.  One who can shoot a free throw.

I think Payton was far better than Rondo and Kemp in his prime was far more dominant than Smith.  Schrempf was one of the best shooters of all time.

If those two were our best players and KG and Pierce retired, we'd struggle to even make the playoffs.  I say 35-45 wins.

  Payton wasn't at the top of his game (career-wise) when the Sonics went to the finals. Compare his career up to the age Rondo is now http://bkref.com/tiny/wuSUX and, while they're pretty similar during the regular season, Rondo clearly has the advantage in the postseason. The year the Sonics went to the finals Payton put up 21/5/7, Rondo put up 17/7/12 last year and was putting up 17/6/11 in 2010 before he picked up an injury in the Orlando series. He's obviously capable of playing on the level Payton was at when the Sonics went to the finals (even if he's not at the level Payton was when he was 30 or so).

On the other hand, Josh Smith isn't even close to the production that Shawn Kemp had up to a similar point in their careers, in the regular season or the postseason.  Shawn Kemp's basic stats and advanced stats destroy Smith in pretty much every category.

I can buy a Payton-Rondo comparison.  I might even buy the rest of the comparisons, though some of them seem like stretches to me.  Kemp-Smith is stretching the bounds of player comparison by an extreme margin.

Josh Smith would have to play to the level of a 95-96 Shawn Kemp for the Celtics to reach a Final with that lineup.  (20-11, All-NBA 2nd team, 8th in MVP voting) In which case, he'd be well worth a max contract.

I have a hard time seeing Josh Smith as the 3rd best forward in basketball, which Kemp was during the Sonics trip to the Finals (after Pippen and Malone).

[ItStaysYang]

Short answer: yes.

Josh Smith is one of those that thrives in the right environment (cough... celtic green). Worth a max deal, and he's a freak. And he's huge. Why not?

[mr. dee]

LOL at the max deal. He is just as worthy as Rondo's contract (or maybe even cheaper).

If Ainge can build a solid team like the 2004 Pistons, Rondo and Smith can win a championship.

[BballTim]

Playoff team? Yes.

Championship Team? Who else is on the squad?

Green = Schrempf
Bradley = Hawkins
Sullinger = Sam Perkins
Rondo = Payton
Smith = Kemp

The 1995-96 Seattle SuperSonics were two wins away from World Title against the greatest player ever in Michael Jordan.

Interesting.  Not that it needs saying but if Sully becomes Perkins (esp. given the surgery) and Green becomes Schrempf (Schrepf was dang good), I'll be pretty happy.

I think that, as others have said, it's all about who else they have.    Neither Smith nor Rondo are MJ, Shaq, Larry or Magic.  With Sully, Green, Bradley playing key roles, I think they still need another stud to be top tier.  One who can shoot a free throw.

I think Payton was far better than Rondo and Kemp in his prime was far more dominant than Smith.  Schrempf was one of the best shooters of all time.

If those two were our best players and KG and Pierce retired, we'd struggle to even make the playoffs.  I say 35-45 wins.

  Payton wasn't at the top of his game (career-wise) when the Sonics went to the finals. Compare his career up to the age Rondo is now http://bkref.com/tiny/wuSUX and, while they're pretty similar during the regular season, Rondo clearly has the advantage in the postseason. The year the Sonics went to the finals Payton put up 21/5/7, Rondo put up 17/7/12 last year and was putting up 17/6/11 in 2010 before he picked up an injury in the Orlando series. He's obviously capable of playing on the level Payton was at when the Sonics went to the finals (even if he's not at the level Payton was when he was 30 or so).

On the other hand, Josh Smith isn't even close to the production that Shawn Kemp had up to a similar point in their careers, in the regular season or the postseason.  Shawn Kemp's basic stats and advanced stats destroy Smith in pretty much every category.

I can buy a Payton-Rondo comparison.  I might even buy the rest of the comparisons, though some of them seem like stretches to me.  Kemp-Smith is stretching the bounds of player comparison by an extreme margin.

Josh Smith would have to play to the level of a 95-96 Shawn Kemp for the Celtics to reach a Final with that lineup.  (20-11, All-NBA 2nd team, 8th in MVP voting) In which case, he'd be well worth a max contract.

I have a hard time seeing Josh Smith as the 3rd best forward in basketball, which Kemp was during the Sonics trip to the Finals (after Pippen and Malone).

  I think what you'd need from Smith is the rebounding he put up against the Celts in the playoffs with much better shot selection.

[eugen]

The can not give you a title.