I'd take Rondo over Evans. No question about it.
With the Celtics being my 'home' team and the Kings being the team I really follow, I can say I've watched at least 80% of every game these two guys have ever played in.
I'm luke warm on Tyreke. If I didn't want him to be good because he was on the Kings, I think I would have a pretty low opinion of him. I'd say there is about a 20% chance he becomes the player we want him to be ... a player better than Rajon Rondo.
As I've said before, I don't like how he handles himself off the court. With his club promotions and his trainer/brothers company .. I just don't need that stuff. And honestly, right now he isn't a team player. We want him to develope into one, but who can say that they know that will happen? And the reality of having a team in Sacramento means that you need to go after guys. If you want a multiple time All-Star poing guard your going to need to trade for him, because odds are he wont come here on his own.
I don't think Boston would do Rondo for Evans. They need a big, luckily we have a few of those. Between Thompson and Hickson they can have their pick .. I'd do either one.
Give me Rondo for Evans and Hickson/Thompson any day.
Before anyone thinks we are giving up too much, remember this; we need to sign players. We need to add salary. That is a fact. Trading one of Hickson or Thompson can be looked at as addition by subtraction depending on who we sign. We could potentially end up with one of Nene/Gasol/Chandler along with Rondo when its all said and done.
I believe Rondo is the kind of player that can attract other players to the team. This version of Tyreke Evans is the opposite. Are you telling me Nene is going to want to come to a team that has Evans, Salmons, Cousins, Jimmer, and Thornton?
Rondo is the ultimate playmaker. He will literally make everyone on the team better. It would be such a ballsy move .. I'd love it.
I respectfully disagree! First, I don't have the same awe of Rondo that you have. Lets not forget that Rondo's rise to fame coincided with the luxury of having Garnett, Allen and Pierce on the team. It makes me wonder just how good he would be on a team with lesser players. And thats not to say that the Kings don't have talent. And, thats not to say that I wouldn't like to find out. But I'm not about to trade Tyreke and one of our bigs to take a looksee.
I'm a believer in building through the draft, and then adding the right pieces to fill in the gaps. The Thunder are a textbook example of how it works. But it takes a commitment. And that means you stop looking at the green grass over the fence, and thinking its a different and better flavor. Tryeke is just entering his third year, and I think we can all agree that his second year wasn't much of a growth year due to injuries. I'd like to have a better picture of the finished product before shipping him off.
Rondo just finished his 5th season, and I don't see any dramatic improvements taking place in the future. His assist totals have gone up every year, but the rest of his stats have remained basicly the same. He still can't shoot from the outside, and after 5 years you should start to see some resemblence of improvement. Lets take a looks at a comparison of the two players in their first two years.
Rondo:
1st year: 6.4 PPG - 48.8% FGP - 20.7% 3PP - 3.7 RPG - 3.8 APG - 1.6 SPG
2nd year: 10.6 PPG - 49.2%FGP - 26.3% 3PP - 4.2 RPG - 5.1 APG - 1.7 SPG
Evans:
1st year: 20.1 PPG - 45.8% FGP - 25.5% 3PP - 5.3 RPG - 5.8 APG - 1.5 SPG
2nd year: 17.8 PPG - 40.9% FGP - 29.1% 3PP - 4.8 RPG - 5.6 APG - 1.5 SPG
Now I'll be the first to admit that stats never tell the whole picture, but they do give you a net result of a players abilities. I'll also admit that Evans played more minutes than Rondo those first two years, but Rondo played the first year without Garnett and Allen on the team. A team that despite Pierce, was not a good team. A team that won only 24 games. Tyreke was on an equally bad team, but managed to log more minutes. Because he earned them. Because he was better his rookie year than Rondo was! If memory serves, he won ROY!!!!
Your now comparing Rondo, who has played 5 seasons to Evans who has played two, and was injuried for a large part of the second season. You said that Rondo is the kind of player that will make everyone better. I don't disagree, but you can't make a bad player dramaticly better. Its a lot easier to make Garnett, Allen and Pierce look better than kicking the ball out to a SG that only shoots 31% from the three. That won't get you a lot of assists.
My intent is not to denigrate Rondo. I just wouldn't trade Evans for him. Evans is 6'6" with a large wingspan. He can essentially play 3 positions and guard 3 positions. He'll outscore and out rebound Rondo every game, and is almost as good a defender as Rondo. Rondo is 6'1" and essentially plays one position, and can on occasion, guard 2 positions depending on the opposition.
So if you make that trade, your giving up scoring, rebounding, and versitality for a few more assists. And thats assuming that Evans makes no improvements in the future, which is unlikely. And, your giving up one third of our current 3 man rotation. By the way, after 5 years in the league, Rondo shot 23.3% from the three last season. No thanks!
Contraction isn't going to happen. It was tweeted this morning that a new owner is in the immediate works, and that their about to sign a new lease on the arena. 
