re: Rondo really is a basketball genius

lol don't I know it. Highlight reels make even Brandon Knight look like an all-star.

all I'm saying is that he sees the floor well and brings intangibles to the Pels that we've never had. his contract alone tells you how "good" he is so my expectations while optimistic are very tempered

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Have we ever had to go out of our way this much to convince ourselves a player will work out?

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When we paid Asik all that money...when we paid Hill all that money. Those deals needed mental gymnastics to justify them, and it was really hard to do so many of us melted. Rondo's on a cheap one year deal and is basically a Frazier replacement. There is no need to rationalize him being on the team.

I just think he brings something to the team that they've been sorely missing. Part of what we'll need to make Rondo without space work is the other guys moving. If they don't move like they should, Rondo will not be afraid to get in a guys face and tell him what he should have been doing. This team hasn't had that since CP3 left.

If somehow QPon could rise from the dead, this team might actually have an average BBIQ

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Have we ever had to go out of our way this much to convince ourselves a player will work out?

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This is just negativity for the sake of negativity. Rondo is a multi-year all star, the assist leader 2 years ago, and most importantly we got him for $3.3M.

There is no need for justification, he will make this team better, and we got him for a deal.

If you don't sign Holiday you only have $13 mil to spend. That's really all there is to say. They were handcuffed

I kind of like his personality. Never liked dumb people.

And this shite here, cracks me up.

"He's a contrarian. I figured that out early. He'd ask, 'Well why wouldn't we do it this way?' Sometimes I'd answer, 'Well, which way do you want to do it?' He'd say, 'No, I like the way we're doing it, I'm just asking.' That's a Rondo."
-- Doc Rivers

haha

LSU vs. UK (2/25/2006)

Anybody else remember this game? Tight one btwn the TIgers & Rondo's Kentucky, who completely faded in it. Pat Sparks hit a game tier with 13 seconds left and UK stupidly fouled LSU next possession. Then I'm pretty sure UK barely missed a buzzer beater. One of the few LSU wins over UK last decade. Big Baby went off and Rondo didn't.

Kumar at BSS did some analysis of Rondo's ability to make his teammates better and measuring how most teammates saw an eFG% increase when the pass came from Rondo vs. another player on the team.

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Rondo had one of his best years in recent memory while he played in Sacramento. His passing statistics indicate that nearly everyone on the roster benefited from Rondo’s ability to create good looks for his teammates. Naturally the 3.30% bump that Cousins saw is an encouraging sight as the Pelicans are hoping to recapture some of that magic. However, the massive increases big men Willie Cauley-Stein and Kosta Koufos see are extremely promising for those envisioning Rondo setting up Anthony Davis with good looks near the basket.

...despite the court being more crowded [in Chicago] than the neutral ground side of Muses, Rondo still managed to create easy looks for most of his team. Perimeter players Butler and Wade were both better off after receiving dishes from Rondo. Bigs Lopez and Felicio saw huge gains as Rondo set them up under the basket. We can only hope this trend of making perimeter players (particularly starters) and big men better continues with the Pelicans.

...The Pelicans will really look for Rondo to maximize their bigs in ways Frazier could not. Statistically, both Holiday and Rondo have a history of setting their teammates up with good looks, but it remains to be seen if the combination can overcome what looks like a lack of spacing in the starting lineup. As bad as Rondo’s season was in Chicago, the results shown above were still encouraging.

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There are charts and more details at the LINK

Also of note, Rondo seemed particularly good at setting up bigs that don't create their own offense, WCS, Koufos, RoLo, and Felicio all recieved a nearly 10% or more boost in eFG% off passes from Rondo. MM tweeted that the Pels think Rondo might make Ajinca useful and honestly Ajinca didn't look terrible at the end of the year in a strictly bench role. Where he looked terrible was earlier in the year when they tried to showcase him for trade as a starter.

Jim Eichenhofer interviewed Coach Erman and the Pels director of player personnel David Booth about Rondo. It's a medium length article worth the read if you've liked what you've seen in this thread so far.

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“He’s a great decision-maker,” Erman said, which led to Rondo averaging double-digit assists four separate seasons and leading the NBA in dimes three times. “People don’t understand that he has two other great things – his intelligence and his competitiveness. His will to win is unbelievable. I was talking to a couple coaches in Chicago, and they said in the last month of the (2016-17 regular) season, he just willed them to the playoffs. When we were in Boston, he willed us to games when we absolutely had to win. Big games, you know he’s going to show up. He’s extremely bright and extremely competitive.”

...“What stands out is his ability to recognize in-game situations,” Booth said. “Sometimes you need a guy who is a coach on the floor. He recognizes who to get the ball to at the right times. That’s going to stand out, because we have some offensive firepower. He understands mismatches and who’s hot. That’s going to complement the whole team. His unselfish mindset is going to translate to everyone else, because it’s contagious. Being a pass-first guard, that’s really good for us, because we have three guys who can really score the ball.”

...“He’s going to get guys easier shots, because of his ability to get into the lane and his passing ability,” Booth said. “But his leadership is what I’m really looking forward to. Guys are going to respect him, because of how his career has gone. He brings so many intangibles off the floor and has so much experience in a winning culture. That’s something you won’t see on paper, but it will impact the other guys, because of the confidence they have in him.”

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LINK