This is the really underrated portion of this deal. For Pierce's roughly $10m TPE we netted a tradeable asset in Thornton, a young center in Zeller and a first rounder, all while merely providing salary absorbance and a second rounder.
That was probably an aberration but I don't think it's a stretch to say that a $13m TPE has the value of a 1st rounder.
If you agree that that is the case, we essentially got two 1sts for Rondo (along with some other minor but nonetheless attractive pieces). I may still be in the minority here, but after giving this TPE the consideration it deserves, I have to say I can't fault Ainge here. It's laughable to think after Ainge so aggressively pursued suitors for Rondo that the Celtics feasibly could have retained Rondo on a reasonable contract -- i.e. one that didn't exceed $15m annually. If you accept that it was smart to look for deals that didn't tie down our cap much more than merely letting him walk would have, what we got isn't all that disappointing.
Wright is certainly a tradeable piece. He has immense positional value and is an expiring.
Crowder is a nice asset to have whether we want to continue developing him or sell him for a couple of seconds to a contender in need of perimeter defensive depth.
Nelson is the only real negative here, but worst case is that he helps the tank by playing poorly, accepts that given his poor performance he can't opt out and sign a more lucrative deal, and comes off the books before 2016, or as I like to call it, the first offseason in which we actually matter since Pierce and KG left.
Also, don't forget about the pick protection on Dallas' 2015 1st. It's in our favor by a long shot. Woj says it's protected between picks 1-3 and 15-30. So essentially if Dallas miraculously slips into the lottery, we get the pick. If not, the pick transfers to next year in which it will be top 7 protected until 2020. I expect us to get a 2016 pick somewhere in the early 20s.
Anyways, all things considered, this really wasn't a disastrous deal for us. We gave up a guy who hasn't shown the value many around here consider him to have for close to two years. As Woj points out, Rondo's power as an impending free agent was significant. He had veto power, which had to have limited Ainge's ability to drive up the price league-wide. Secondly, teams like LAL and NYK professed via media that there was no reason to pay Ainge's price when they could just sign him this offseason.
In the end, it was disappointing to see just how little Rondo is valued around the league now, but having accepted that, I can't begrudge Ainge for his decision.