[jthig32]

Here's the thing about replacing Rondo, if it comes to that:

He's been objectively terrible offensively. There's just no other way to put it. And yet, despite that, a host of injuries, and the bench being depleted by the trade, the Mavs have maintained a top ten(ish) offense since the trade. They don't *need* a dynamic (or even good) offensive player at PG in order to be a quality offensive team. That's been established, at this point.

What has happened, since the trade, is the defense has improved dramatically. We've now established that the Mavs, with this core, CAN be a quality defensive team. Devin has started playing better defense, Aminu has been a revelation, and we went from horrendous to good at starting PG. That was enough to make the Mavs into a viable defensive team. And I wasn't convinced that this core was capable of producing that level of defense. And I don't think Rondo's playing a level of defense that can't be found elsewhere.

So if you start talking about replacing Rondo, you don't have to replace what you (maybe) thought you were getting. You don't have to find a star. You need to find someone that plays above average defense and doesn't kill you offensively. That's a relatively low bar, especially considering how deep the PG market is right now.

Now, the unfortunate part is that, given the salary cap situation, it will be difficult to find even that level of player, while also keeping Tyson, Monta, Aminu and Amare. But it's not impossible.