You guys know Rondo wasn't involved in that Brooklyn trade right? Theoretically, the C's could have traded for Paul and still made the Brooklyn trade 2 years later. Especially if Paul was true to his word and didn't re-sign with the C's, I'd have to think the Brooklyn trade is still likely to happen.
IIRC, Paul had 2 years left on his contract at the time of the trade, but the last year was a player option. So maybe that nice playoff run in 2012 convinces Paul to opt in, maybe it even results in another championship. If he opts in and leaves after 2013, that Brooklyn trade is probably more likely to happen. If he opts out after 2012 though, maybe Pierce and KG's decline is a little more exposed and maybe Brooklyn doesn't offer as much?
I wonder if Paul would have made a difference in 2012. The C's already took LeBron and the Heat to 7 games with Rondo,
and Rondo arguably had the better playoffs of the two, that 44 point game, 4 triple doubles, etc., but Paul was still the better player, and maybe playing with Paul instead of Rondo would have rejuvenated Ray a little?
With Paul, the C's likely have a better record in 2012 and the Clippers have a worse record (C's had their pick). So instead of picking #21 and #22, maybe they're picking somewhere between #10-#15 (still wouldn't amount to crap unless Danny traded it), and #24-#30,
and supposedly Draymond Green was on the C's board right after Sully... Oh yeah, and remember how David West was supposed to sign here too. Maybe now he actually does.
I guess worse case scenario is Paul re-signs, we still have Doc as a coach, Paul still just forced the trade to Houston now, and the C's have no additional rings to show for it. A good case though, the C's got another ring in 2012, and they still made the Brooklyn trade in '13. And then I can think of million alternative cases where Danny is able to re-tool around Chris Paul and Draymond Green, and who knows what that results in, especially without that Golden State superpower out there. Maybe Durant actually signed here as a free agent!