This is a punch to the gut of the Celtics, and the season has not even started yet.
Rajon Rondo underwent surgery on a broken left hand Friday, a story first reported by Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe and confirmed by the team itself.The Boston Celtics announced today that guard Rajon Rondo underwent successful surgical fixation of a left metacarpal fracture this morning at New England Baptist Hospital. The injury was a result of a fall at his home last night. The surgery was performed by Dr. Hervey Kimball and Celtics Team Physician Dr. Brian McKeon.
Estimated timetable for return is six to eight weeks.
That will keep former All-Star Rondo out for all of training camp and as much as the first month of the regular season.
Rondo was already coming off ACL knee surgery last season, where he only played in 30 games for the Celtics. That was one of the things keeping his trade value down, teams want to see him perform before putting much into a trade offer — now they are going to wait longer and be watching two injuries. Combine that with the Celtics demanding All-Star level players back in return and the potential trade partners wanting to be sure he will re-sign with them as a free agent next summer, and you see why there hasn’t been much of a trade market for Rondo. (The Celtics insist they would like to re-sign Rondo, and maybe this injury impacts that re-signing value also.)
This injury also does not help a young Celtics roster looking for a leader. It means rookie Marcus Smart will largely get thrown to the wolves as the starting point guard.