Watching Sunday’s Celtics-Heat game, I don’t know who I was more impressed with: Rajon Rondo or Dwyane Wade.
DWade obviously stole the headlines with 46 points on 16-of-24 shooting, but Rondo’s numbers were nothing to sneeze at – 44 minutes, 9-of-17 shooting, 2 of 3 on 3s, four boards, nine assists, two steals and a team-high 23 points.
If only the Lakers could get half that production from the point guard spot, let alone the defensive support.
Los Angeles guards (Fisher, Brown and Farmar) have been getting killed by Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, who is averaging 34.5 minutes, 55.2% shooting (2 of 2 from long range), 6.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 21.8 points heading into today’s Game 5.
Which got me thinking, how different things would be for the Lakers had thy gone in a different direction with the point guard spot – either signing a younger, proven guard rather than re-signing D. Fisher (yeah, I can’t believe I’m suggesting this either Laker fan, but hold on to your “I heart Fish” boxers for a sec). Or what if they went in another direction in say the 2006 Draft, which went something like this:
21. Phoenix Suns (from L.A. Lakers): Rajon Rondo, Guard, Kentucky (to Boston)
22. New Jersey Nets (from L.A. Clippers): Marcus Williams, Guard, Connecticut
25. Cleveland Cavaliers: Shannon Brown, Guard, Michigan State
26. L.A. Lakers (from Miami) Jordan Farmar, Guard, UCLA
Think about that for a second. At one point, the Lakers held the No. 21 pick and could have wound up with the steal of the 2006 Draft.
The Lakers, however, coughed up that 21st pick a couple years earlier as part of the trade that sent Rick Fox and Gary Payton to Boston for Chucky Atkins, Jumaine Jones and Chris Mihm. Yeah, you remember that trade.
The Celtics then traded the pick to Atlanta with Payton, Tom Gugliotta and Michael Stewart to bring Ryantific’s favorite player, Antoine Walker, back to Boston.
The pick later ended up in Phoenix, where Boston had the Suns select Rondo as part of a draft-night trade that sent the former Kentucky star and former Laker Brian Grant to Boston for a 2007 first-round pick
So even after losing the 21st pick, the Suns (think Steve Nash), were obviously willing to shop that pick for the right price.
The Sun’s reward in 2007? Rudy Fernandez (Spain) at No. 24. Wah, wah.
The Lakers, meanwhile, went on to take Javaris Crittenton (Georgia Tech) in the 2007 Draft at No. 19. Wah, wah.
Safe to say the Cs got the best of that deal.
Fast forward to today and Rondo is averaging 42 minutes, .44% shooting (60 % from three), 5.8 boards, 9.8 assists, 2 steals, .25 blocks and 14.5 ppg in the playoffs.
And it seems like he’s a guy who would fit right into the Lakers’ star-studded lineup.
Kobe, Gasol, Lamar: not much different than: RayRay, Pierce and KG. Throw Bynum in the middle in place of Davis-Perkins, and you have the Celtics-West.
If anything, it would’ve made the Lakers look better long term. But right now, the Lakers don’t look all that different from an aging and hobbled Celtics squad. Check that, Boston looks better than the Lakers four games into the 2010 postseason.
Yeah, I know, shoulda, woulda, coulda, hindsight is 20/20 and all that, but it’s interesting to see how a forgotten about move (shipping Fox and Payton to Boston) can have an effect on a club more than five years down the road.
I knew the Lakers would regret getting rid of The Glove. Call it the curse of the ‘Sonics.
Maybe that’s where the Team Formerly Known as the Sonics is getting all this inspiration for these playoffs.
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