Grande: No Such Thing As 'Untouchable' Players In Danny Ainge's World
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Celtics are currently traveling down the long road of rebuilding their franchise, with the starting point redefined by last week's trade of point guard Rajon Rondo.
Sean Grande, the radio voice of the Boston Celtics on 98.5 The Sports Hub, took a look back at Rondo's complicated -- but unforgettable -- career in Boston last week, and joined Toucher & Rich on Tuesday to discuss the future of the franchise.
With Rondo gone, it appears that Marcus Smart is the future of the team. But is Smart, or anyone on the current roster, untouchable?
"There is no such thing, in a Danny Ainge world, as an untouchable player," said Grande.
Tune In: Bruins-Predators On Sports Hub; Celtics-Magic On WZLX
While the Celtics' quest to add another All Star next to Rondo fell short, Grande says that sometimes star players can become available at a moment's notice. If that happens, no one is off-limits on the Boston roster.
"I don't think anybody is when it comes to, and I'll paint you a ridiculous scenario if I may put an asterisk next to it first; I don't want to see a headline tomorrow saying 'Grande Says Celtics Could Get [Kevin] Durant,' because that's how this stuff starts," he joked. "But that's a player who, in a year or two, is heading for free agency, and there will come a point where the Thunder decide if he'll resign or not. At some point, a major star will come on the market and there will be an opportunity for somebody.
"My hypothetical is, do you not think Danny would part with Marcus Smart the same way he parted with all the young players he drafted to get Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett here? Of course, no one is untouchable and anybody could be included in a package. The irony of that is, the one guy the Celtics refused to give up to get Kevin Garnett, was Rajon Rondo."
Could Ainge and the Celtics have built around Rondo? Grande looks back to the summer of 2007 to answer that question.
"[Pierce, Garnett and Allen] were better because they played with each other, and Rondo probably benefited more than anybody," he said. "Not just because of who he was passing to, but because of the way he plays on the defensive end of the floor; it was a nice luxury to have the greatest defensive player in the last quarter century playing behind him to clean up the gambling way he played.
Robb: Making Sense Of Celtics Roster Following Rondo Trade
"But there are few players in the league that you can say are 'the guy' you want to build around. Here, the myth is that Paul Pierce was the guy and Danny brought players around him to support him in bringing a championship. That's a decent narrative, but the reality is Kevin Garnett was the guy," said Grande. "I think there are very few of those guys in the league, and Rondo isn't one of them, because there are things he can't do.
"But I do think the first priority was to do with Rondo what Danny had done with Paul Pierce. It's not about [players who are] better or worse, but players who complement his skill set. That was the first choice, but it became unrealistic. The second Cleveland jumped Boston in the lottery was the beginning of the end."
Listen to the full interview below:
MORE CELTICS COVERAGE FROM CBS BOSTON
