SH Blog: Rajon Rondo wants to be greatest Celtics PG ever, Chalmers thinks Rondo is not the best PG

If you are a Lakers fan, you are going to enjoy today’s news because there will be plenty to read about, from Kobe Bryant’s role on the new team, Dwight Howard’s injury status, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s statue, what Steve Nash does to be such a great shooter and more. Also, see what Rajon Rondo wants to remembered as when his career is over, and why Mario Chalmers doesn’t think Rondo is the best point guard in the league:

• How great does Rajon Rondo want to be for the Boston Celtics? Only the greatest of all time, from Rey Joble of InterAKTV: “Barely four hours after landing in Manila, NBA all-star guard Rajon Rondo took time to unwind at the Titan 22 barber shop at The Fort. He then went straight to scheduled business, talking to local media about, among other things, his place in Boston Celtics lore. “I hope I can end my career as the greatest point guard in the history of the Boston Celtics,” he said. He doesn’t know where he ranks just yet on the list of top lead guards in the history of the green and white, a lineup that includes all-time greats such as Bob Cousy, Jo Jo White, Nate Archibald, and Dennis Johnson, among others.”

• Mario Chalmers stated that it was bold of Rondo to say he is the best point guard in the league, then went on to call himself “in the front end of the top 10” in an interview with Peter Emerick of Bleacher Report: “Peter Emerick: “Rajon Rondo recently said that he’s the NBA’s top point guard. What are your thoughts on that, and where do you think you rank among all the point guards in the NBA?” Mario Chalmers: “He’s not the best, but he’s in the top five. There are a lot of great point guards in the league, Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Steve Nash. There are a lot of great guards in the NBA so for him to say he’s the best is a pretty bold statement. I’d say that I [Mario Chalmers] am in the front end of the top 10.”

• Chalmers also expressed in the same interview that he would prefer to have the most important shot of a game: “Peter Emerick: “Here’s a scenario for you. It’s Game 7, you’re down three points with 25 seconds left and the shot clock expiring. I know you are big-shot Mario, so who’s going to get the ball in that situation?” Mario Chalmers: “Hopefully it’s me. But with what he [Dwyane Wade] has done over his career, we are probably going to put the ball in D. Wade’s hands.” Peter Emerick: “Deep in your heart, you want that shot though.” Mario Chalmers: “Yea, I want that shot.”

• Many things will have to go right for the Lakers to be title favorites, and Kobe Bryant will be in the center of it all. Good thing he is great at cutting and moving without the ball, according to Zach Lowe of SI: “All of us have been fretting, to some degree, about Bryant’s willingness to play nice within a new ecosystem that will feature the Princeton offense, an elite point guard and a pick-and-roll beast of a center. The concern is justified. But in all of this collective anxiety, we’ve sort of buried a very basic fact about Kobe Bryant: He is a fantastic off-ball cutter. Bryant is renowned for both his work ethic and his basketball intelligence. If you asked 100 players to name the smartest “basketball” guy in the league, I’d wager Kobe would finish among the top three or four vote-getters. (Nash would certainly give him a run.) Bryant’s footwork in the post is legend. That same nimble footwork, plus a heady sense of anticipation and space, makes Bryant a genius off-ball player when he wants to be.”

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won’t have to complain about a lack of statue of himself soon enough, by Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie: “Kareem can moan no more, probably, because the Lakers very definitely have decided to give the man a statue. Even though Laker spokesman John Black rightfully pointed out that the team wasn’t in the business of tossing up a statue “every year,” the team has announced that Abdul-Jabbar will get his very own massive stone ideal. It will be unveiled during the 2012-13 season, though no date has been set in stone. Perhaps now the Kareem and the Lakers’ relationship will be off the rocks.”

• Speaking of statues, Larry Bird will soon receive one of his own thanks to Indiana State University, from The Associated Press: “Indiana State University is moving ahead with plans for a 15-foot-tall bronze statue honoring basketball great Larry Bird for his playing days with the Sycamores. A statue has been discussed for several years, but officials now expect to dedicate it in the fall of 2013 at the school’s Hulman Center arena, the Tribune-Star reported Tuesday. Sculptor Bill Wolfe said he wants to make sure Bird’s statue is taller than those of Magic Johnson, whose Michigan State team beat Bird’s Indiana State team in the 1979 NCAA championship game.”

• There is no timetable for Dwight Howard to return to basketball activities as of now, according to Mike Trudell of NBA.com: “Dwight Howard is currently doing his therapy/rehabilitation from back surgery at a facility in the Westwood/Century City area of L.A. At some point, he will transition over to working with Lakers head athletic trainer Gary Vitti, the team’s head physical therapist Dr. Judy Seto and the rest of Vitti’s staff (a time has not yet been set). Lakers spokesman John Black said Howard will not be doing any basketball/weight workouts until he’s cleared medically, and that there is no target date for any of that at this point.”

• 76ers coach Doug Collins wants Spencer Hawes to play the role of Pau Gasol with Andrew Bynum, written by Max Rappaport of NBA.com: “With the addition of All-Star center Andrew Bynum, Hawes will now slide over to the power forward position, where he’ll utilize his superior passing skills and midrange game to create space for the team’s newest seven-footer. The two will form one of just three seven-foot starting tandems in the league – Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman of the Dallas Mavericks and Andrea Bargnani and Jonas Valanciunas of the Toronto Raptors form the other two pairs. Collins, though, wants Hawes and Bynum to emulate the play of a different towering tandem, one that was disbanded earlier this month – Pau Gasol and, you guessed it, Andrew Bynum. “I want (Hawes) to play the Pau Gasol role with Bynum,” Collins said. “Both (Hawes and Gasol) like to play out on the perimeter because they can shoot the ball and are very good passers.”

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  Andrew Bynum of the Philadelphia 76ers

  Kenny Smith shared some thoughts about Andrew Bynum’s development and his inability to better communicate with his coach, from Mark Medina of Los Angeles Times: “With Bynum joining Philadelphia, what do you see as his next step in continuing his development? I think he’ll realize he’s playing with some talented young kids. He’s not coming in to be a savior. He’s coming in to score, rebound and do the same things he was doing in L.A. The only difference is he will have even more minutes at it. How concerned were you with his inconsistent performances? I always thought he had a full effort. I just thought there were statements made that you could ask the guy who is 10 feet away from you. I’m from a different era. I never had a problem talking to a coach. I didn’t need to go to the papers. The guy is sitting 10 feet away from you, so have a conversation with him. I just felt a lot of times his conversations became public.”

• Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko is very optimistic about the upcoming season. In fact, he said the team will make the playoffs, from James Jahnke of Detroit Free Press: “Detroit Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko is playing for Team Sweden in the qualifying round of the 2013 Eurobasket tournament, but he’s also keeping focus on his NBA lift. Asked after a recent game in Germany how the Pistons are shaping up this season, he sounded an optimistic tone. “We got a deep team,” Jerebko said. ” Our goal was the playoffs last year. We played playoff basketball, but we started off the season horrible. “We’re going to get better. We got a young team, and we’re going to make the playoffs.”

• Lang Whitaker of Slam Online has the story on why Ricky Rubio signed with Adidas instead of Nike: “On a rainy Portland morning, as the NBA Conference Finals are winding down, Ricky Rubio limps up a concrete stairway on the adidas campus following a controlled workout. Rubio had ACL surgery just weeks ago, and he’s in the early stages of rehab, on his way back to where he left off for the Minnesota Timberwolves pre-injury, as arguably the most exciting rookie in the NBA. Rubio has worn Nikes his entire career, at least up until today, when he is officially joining the team at adidas. “My Nike contract was finished last season,” Ricky, who averaged 10.6 ppg and 8.2 apg as a first-year NBA PG, explains, “and we were talking about re-signing, but they weren’t that interested, as much as other brands like adidas. Making my own shoe over here is a big deal.”

• Sean Sweeney of Dime Magazine shared an old Steve Nash shooting workout video that goes over 20 minutes long. It’s still worth watching if you’ve never seen it: “Ever wanted to know how Steve Nash became such an unreal shooter? Well here he shows off a simple 20-minute workout that he uses to get loose and get his groove. Amazingly, he misses a bunch of shots throughout the first three or four minutes before turning it up. Eventually, he can’t miss, and hits the listeners with, “This is getting boring. I’m making every shot.” Nash can even make a shooting video funny.”

• Brian Scalabrine, aka “the White Mamba”, may possibly become a part of the Bulls coaching staff, according to Aggrey Sam of CSN Chicago: “According to sources familiar with the situation, the fan favorite is in line to join Tom Thibodeau’s coaching staff for the upcoming season, CSNChicago.com has learned. Since former Bulls assistant coach Rick Brunson departed for a position with the Charlotte Bobcats in the offseason, the organization has had an opening and while the likes of former Magic assistant Steve Clifford was considered–the member of Stan Van Gundy’s staff in Orlando recently accepted a job with the Lakers, where he’ll be reunited with All-Star center Dwight Howard–it appears that Scalabrine is now a front-runner for the spot.”

Kobe Bryant predicted that Dwight Howard would become a Laker

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