With all the rumors about Rondo, do you think he ends up being apart of the Celtics future?
TA: Regarding the many trade rumors, I don’t see him being traded this season. His value is too low coming off the ACL injury and if Ainge is going to trade his only all star, he’s going to want full value. As for beyond that it’s hard to tell. His contract runs out in the summer of 2015 and him staying beyond that is probably dependent on how he sees his worth. He’s probably going to want the max after getting short changed with his last deal(which I wouldn’t blame him for) and if that happens I highly doubt Danny will retain him. Obviously that is a hypothetical and he could realize that he is best suited being paid as the 2nd-3rd best player on a contender while still leaving Ainge room to build a championship worthy team.
How does Dwight’s departure to Houston affect the Lakers and their ability to reload and/or rebuild?
CC: Obviously losing the top center in the league is going to hurt your team, but I trust the Lakers front office. The 2014 free agency is going to be huge, but it won’t be the be-all-end-all that some people are making it out to be. If the Lakers strike out in free agency, they can do what they did this year — sign a bunch of one-year deals and try again in 2015. It’s a risky move, as we’ve seen the Dallas Mavericks completely miss by doing this, but the Lakers are in win-now mode due to Kobe being on his last legs.