The World’s Dumbest Trade Rumor Marches On, Ignores Time and Space

An update on what I dubbed “the dumbest trade rumor ever.“ Since, after being wrong about Jameer Nelson’s return, I’ve dubbed this the official day of self-flagellation. But you have to admit, SVG was mad sneaky with actually making the Nelson news known—when he probably knew all along. ↵
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↵HOOPSWORLD is in the Chi, kickin’ it with every NBA exec in the world. And so, “with the help of WEEI’s Jessica Camerato in Boston,“ they’ve cobbled together the following update for us:↵↵⇥Off the record, we have several sources telling us that Ray Allen is, indeed, on the block . . . It’s not a stretch to say the Celtics would part with Allen, who has an ending contract next season, if they could add another top young player to the mix.↵⇥
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↵⇥On the record we have an added wrinkle - one that we thought to be highly unlikely until we found it reported with a quote attributed to Celtics GM Danny Ainge. It seems the Celtics are willing to package Rajon Rondo with Allen to make the right deal happen.↵↵Total bombshell, right? Who wouldn’t trade the breakout star of the 2009 Playoffs if given the right circumstances? All we need now is the evidence to seal the deal. And here it is:↵↵⇥“He’s stubborn,” Ainge told ESPN’s Jackie MacMullen. “He doesn’t always take direction well. He’s very bright and knows what he needs to do to be successful. But sometimes he doesn’t understand what the team needs to be successful.”↵↵That’s fine and good, but try clicking on that link. The quote is from April 23. Yes, it was after the playoffs had started. After Game 2 of the first round, actually. It’s using Rondo’s progress/adjustments from Game 1 (a totally meaningless triple-double, right?) to the Game 2 win. And it precedes Rondo averaging some totally garish numbers, and emerging as the team’s most important player, during the post-season. Six days later, yours truly pointed out that the Celtics guard could now be counted among the vaunted free agent class of 2010.↵
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↵Then we get a quote from Doc Rivers, delivered even earlier in the season and probably in the heat of, you know, coaching, about how everyone hates Rondo and he needs to get it together. But you know, chronology and context are a very minor inconvenience when you’re chasing down THE TRADE OF THE CENTURY. Sorry Boston, it’s not going down like that for you every summer from here on out. Thankfully, though, the Phoenix deal seems to be off this great big floating cloud-covered table in the sky.↵