Rondo for Harden

[Randy]

If Houston has Rondo that makes them the #1 destination for Melo, if he does leave the Knicks. But I almost think that they would rather pass on Melo if it meant giving up Harden because he is worth more than what the Rockets signed him for ($80M/5 years for Harden is a steal).

[Csfan1984]

July 1st for resigns. July 10 for players not on your roster. FA ends at the end of the regular season I believe.

[D.o.s.]

The Harden contract was literally the largest Houston could have offered him. I'm not sure that fits anyone's definition of "a steal"

[CM0]

There aren't many Rondo trade ideas I like, but this one I do and it makes some sense from the Rockets perspective.

Also, if you look at the 12/13 Rockets roster and see that they finished 45-37 with a roster that basically had Harden and Asik and not a whole lot else.  You'd have to think we'd be a playoff team right off and a good defensive big away from being a top 4 team in the East (assuming Smart is as good as we hope).

Yeah, I'm on the same page. I loath most Rondo trade ideas but this one isn't so bad. Makes decent sense for both teams too, that is IF the Rockets reach an agreement in principle with Melo/LBJ. I don't think they do this trade otherwise as they rely heavily on Harden's scoring.

[Randy]

The Harden contract was literally the largest Houston could have offered him. I'm not sure that fits anyone's definition of "a steal"

The fact that they got him for what they did and locked him in for 5 years $80M/yr seems like a pretty good deal to me for a franchise player as good as Harden is.

[sadleprechaun]

A few questions:

1) Can another team offer HOU a better way to free up space for Carmelo/LeBron?

2) If HOU made this trade, how much would you expect Carmelo/LeBron to sign for?  How much would you expect Rondo to sign for?  Do those numbers really work?

3) Why wouldn't HOU simply package Lin with future picks to make space for Carmelo/LeBron?

[budMovin]

Rondo by himself would get a quick "No". We would have to add a lot of assets to make this happen in order to get an actual franchise player entering his prime.

[jpotter33]

Rondo by himself would get a quick "No". We would have to add a lot of assets to make this happen in order to get an actual franchise player entering his prime.

It's about fit, though. Rondo is a much better fit with Howard and Melo/Lebron than Harden.  I'd say Rondo and 1 or 2 future firsts could do it, but I say that's definitely worth it.

[budMovin]

Rondo by himself would get a quick "No". We would have to add a lot of assets to make this happen in order to get an actual franchise player entering his prime.

It's about fit, though. Rondo is a much better fit with Howard and Melo/Lebron than Harden.  I'd say Rondo and 1 or 2 future firsts could do it, but I say that's definitely worth it.

Rondo and 2 unprotected 1sts might get the ball rolling. Is Rondo even a top 10 PG these days? Harden is absolutely the best shooting guard in the league. Houston wont give up a dollar for a bunch of change just because of fit.

[sadleprechaun]

In order to make this work, we'd have to take back Lin using our TPE, right?

I think that the deal would look something like this:

TO BOSTON: Harden, Lin
TO HOUSTON: Rondo and picks

The problem is that Houston would be in "win now" mode, so our picks don't have a ton of value to them.  I don't know if we have any other assets that would be interesting to Houston.

Maybe this would need to be a three-team trade?

[loco_91]

The Rockets are clearing cap room to sign a major free agent this summer.  Harden's game is ball-dominant and unique, and his lack of defensive effort rubs some the wrong way.  The top two free agents they're wanting to sign are Melo and Lebron. We all know Melo won't fit well with Harden, and I suspect that Lebron would be hesitant to play with Harden, too. If they can clear the cap room for one of them, why not try and appease them by switching Harden for Rondo, who have nearly identical contracts? Hear me out...

Harden is the better player for sure, but his playing style really hinders their chance of picking up either of the two aforementioned free agents. Melo already has a fondness of Rondo, and Lebron has mentioned a time or two about loving his style, as well.  Where both Harden and Rondo are ball-dominant, Rondo wants to pass where Harden wants to shoot. Rondo would instantly give Howard many more easy looks, and Melo and Lebron would both get much easier looks than they're accustomed to. Can you imagine a Rondo/Howard/Lebron threesome?

For us, it gives us a franchise player under contract for four more years to build around. Granted, it will probably cost a pick or two to attain him depending on whether Rondo would agree to sign there next year, which seems likely.  Also, by picking Smart we can try and help develop Harden's defense a little more by pairing him with the great defense of Smart and hiding him a little bit. A lineup of Smart, Harden, Green/Young, Sully, Olynyk would be decent next year, and that's not including any trades of Green, Bass, or Anthony or use of the TPE.  Finally, this team would be a prime landing spot for free agents next summer, sort of like how Houston was last summer.

Realistic or no?

I'd love to do this trade and simultaneously help them clear space using the TPE, instead of sacrificing picks. I'd love the following trade: http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ny65qyk, even if we added a future first to sweeten it. I'm very high on Clint Capela, who I believe can be our rim protector of the future.

[TheTruthFot18]

I think if we included Rondo, Sully/KO, and future picks they might consider.

I'm not sure how much it will really save them but it opens up for a Rondo, LBJ/Melo, Howard trio.

[Future Celtics Owner]

I don't like it. I am pretty sure we are going youth mode and if we trade Rondo it should be for a young prospect and picks, thats just the way I see it. I actually like rebuilding, got used to it when I bought in to what Ainge was doing with Al Jefferson and Green and etc.

I think a lot of people on here came out of the woodwork after we got Garnett and do not appreciate the rebuilding process. I see a lot of people that in my opinion would rather make the playoffs and lose in 2nd round than do what it takes to make a championship team. Well the only problem is that we are the Celtics and we only count championships.

[Future Celtics Owner]

The Rockets are clearing cap room to sign a major free agent this summer.  Harden's game is ball-dominant and unique, and his lack of defensive effort rubs some the wrong way.  The top two free agents they're wanting to sign are Melo and Lebron. We all know Melo won't fit well with Harden, and I suspect that Lebron would be hesitant to play with Harden, too. If they can clear the cap room for one of them, why not try and appease them by switching Harden for Rondo, who have nearly identical contracts? Hear me out...

Harden is the better player for sure, but his playing style really hinders their chance of picking up either of the two aforementioned free agents. Melo already has a fondness of Rondo, and Lebron has mentioned a time or two about loving his style, as well.  Where both Harden and Rondo are ball-dominant, Rondo wants to pass where Harden wants to shoot. Rondo would instantly give Howard many more easy looks, and Melo and Lebron would both get much easier looks than they're accustomed to. Can you imagine a Rondo/Howard/Lebron threesome?

For us, it gives us a franchise player under contract for four more years to build around. Granted, it will probably cost a pick or two to attain him depending on whether Rondo would agree to sign there next year, which seems likely.  Also, by picking Smart we can try and help develop Harden's defense a little more by pairing him with the great defense of Smart and hiding him a little bit. A lineup of Smart, Harden, Green/Young, Sully, Olynyk would be decent next year, and that's not including any trades of Green, Bass, or Anthony or use of the TPE.  Finally, this team would be a prime landing spot for free agents next summer, sort of like how Houston was last summer.

Realistic or no?

I'd love to do this trade and simultaneously help them clear space using the TPE, instead of sacrificing picks. I'd love the following trade: http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ny65qyk, even if we added a future first to sweeten it. I'm very high on Clint Capela, who I believe can be our rim protector of the future.

Instead of doing this trade and hoping Cappella is our future rim protector, we should wait till next draft and select one of the many big men.

[Celtics4ever]

Capella is totally unproven, too.  We all know Switzerland is a mecca for basketball talent, too.