Pistons still showing interest in Rajon Rondo

Despite the fact that the Detroit Pistons have recently traded for point guard Brandon Jennings, reports are that the team still hasn't cooled on Boston Celtics point man Rajon Rondo.

From Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe:  Just because the Pistons acquired Brandon Jennings in a sign-and-trade deal with the Bucks doesn’t mean they’ve lost interest in Rajon Rondo. In fact, they could eventually use Jennings as a trade chip and seek to acquire Rondo. There are going to be several interested parties in Rondo, and that number could increase when he shows he’s fully recovered from anterior cruciate ligament surgery .

It appears that Joe Dumars is happy with the acquisition of Jennings but if he can find a way to pry Rondo out of Boston he'll do it in a heartbeat.

The only way this happens is if Rondo gets so disenchanted with the losing in Boston that he becomes a force so detrimental to the team that he has to be traded. Also Jennings would have to be the same player he was in Milwaukee, clash with head coach Maurice Cheeks and ruin the Pistons' chance at a playoff spot.

I don't know if it'll happen but i'm sure Dumars has Danny ainge on speed dial if a deal is to be made.

Pass first point guard vs. shoot first point guard

In the NBA today, we have a variety of different point guards. We have shoot first point guards (Derrick Rose), pass first point guards (Rajon Rondo), and a variety of both (Tony Parker).


Some say it is better to have a dominant more of a scoring type of point guard. They say it saves time to get up the court. They can go one on one and score in 10 seconds. However, some say it disrupts the concept of working the ball around. It doesn't seem to affect Rose or Westbrook (However, when Westbrook shoots poorly the Thunder usually play poorly).

Then theirs is the pass first point guards. These guys set up their stars and get players going. These point guards seem to have the most success. Think of all the championship teams in the past. Mario Chalmers, Jason Kidd, Derek Fisher, Rajon Rondo, Jason Williams, Avery Johnson, Steve Kerr, Kenny Smith, John Paxson, Magic Johnson, Maurice Cheeks, Tom Henderson, Lionel Hollins, Butch Beard, Larry Siegfried, Wali Jones, K.C. Jones, and Bob Cousy are the point guards who won championships (And are pass first point guards). That's about 65-70% of all championship teams had a pass first point guard.

Finally, there are the players who are neither pass first or shoot first point guards. These are players like Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups, Isiah Thomas, Gus Williams, Walt Frazier, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry West. That's 25-30% of all championship teams had a mix (not a pass first, but not a score first) point guard.

I cannot think of one team that had a shoot first point guard and won a championship. Jerry West was the point guard with the highest PPG average who won a championship. He averaged 25.8 PPG, but also led the league in assists. Therefore, you can't say West was a shoot first point guard in 1972.

Who would you rather have, a shoot first point guard, a pass first point guard, or a mix of both. First off, I can exclude shoot first point guards since they have yet to win a championship. In my opinion, I would rather have a pass first point guard. They have won 70% of all championships and you don't need a lot of money for most. You can go out and buy another superstar if you have an average pass first point guard (Derek Fisher).

A pass first point guard will be more valuable than any other point guard some of the time but I'd rather have a point guard that can distribute but know when to take a game over.

For Rondo It's About Dollars And Sense

Rajon Rondo is doing what a lot of NBA players didn't seem to do during the last lockout. He's saving his money. After Big Daddy Stern said he wants to cut player salaries by a third, Rondo is doing the smart thing by preparing as if there will be a lockout next season. Even though he makes 9 mill this year, it can go fast when you're not getting paid. Undoubtedly a smart move that some other players might want to take heed to.

Then there won't be anymore comments like this.