When the Boston Celtics maneuvered a trade on draft day in 2006 to acquire Rajon Rondo, it quickly changed the future of the franchise by having a total game changer running the game as the floor general.

Former President of Basketball Operations for the Celtics, Danny Ainge, wasn’t going to leave the ‘06 draft without Rondo. Ainge had Rondo on his radar for years prior to him declaring for the NBA Draft after forgoing his final two years at Kentucky.

The draft day trade required Boston to meet the demands of the Phoenix Suns, who owned of the No. 21 overall pick that year. The asking price was a 2007 first round pick, accepting the contact of Brian Grant, along with sending a few million dollars in cash.

Celtics majority owner, Wyc Grousbeck, would empower Ainge to do what was needed to acquire Rondo, a player he knew his general manager was extremely high on entering this draft. Ainge got the deal done, making it one of the best trades in franchise history.

“I told him, if you can find a team, go buy a pick and take Rondo.”

Rondo only started 25-games as a rookie, but it was all about the bigger picture when it came to Rondo for Ainge. Finding a way to surround Rondo, a point guard that was wise beyond his years on the court, with All-Star veteran pieces was the next move for Ainge to make.

The following year, Ainge made power moves to get Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to Boston to complete his vision of raising Banner 17 and to bring a championship back to Boston, a feat he did twice as a player for the franchise.

Ainge now had everything he wanted in order to win a championship. He had a strong coach in Doc Rivers that he truly believed in and he had a team with a core that he selected just a season prior with Rondo, and adding Allen and Garnett to join franchise cornerstone Paul Pierce.

The way Rondo transformed many Celtics fans is by what he was able to do on the court on a daily basis. He was the modern day Bob Cousy with his dribble moves and offensive flare. He had the ability to control a game without even scoring too much.

In 2007-08, his first season as a starter, Rondo scored 10.6 points on 49.2 percent shooting, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game. He totaled 393 assists and had six-games with at least 10 assists.

He paved the way for this team to win the championship with his high-level play to pair with his high-level basketball intelligence that oftentimes made him the smartest player on the court.

Rondo took complete control of a team that had three future hall of fame players in Pierce, Garnett, and Allen. He earned their respect by the way he was able to score with ease while giving the team whatever it needed on a game-to-game basis.

His abilities on the court paired with moves he made were mesmerizing and transferred to all Celtics fans. Seeing Rondo do the fake-around pass to completely turn around defenders and just his overall court vision made every player on a court want to replicate Rondo’s moves.

I remember being in high school during Rondo’s time in Boston. He quickly became my favorite player and as a former guard, myself, I would always try to pull off his moves in my own games. From the fake-arounds, the up-and-overs, to pivot moves, I was trying to be the next Rondo for my team.

The way Rondo came in and orchestrated the court with three future hall of fame players in just his second year to win a championship is something that isn’t talked about enough and shouldn’t be overlooked.

Rondo ranks fourth all-time in Celtics history with 4,474 assists, third in steals with 990, and fourth in triple-doubles with 22. He also ranks 16th all-time in NBA history with 32 triple-doubles and 52nd all-time with 1,518 steals in his career.

In his nine-years with Boston, Rondo was a four-time All-Star, a two-time Defensive First Team selection, a two-time Defensive Second Team selection, led the league twice in assists, and led the league in steals.

Rondo could do it all. He was a magician on the court. As I said earlier, a modern day Bob Cousy.

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Photo Credit: Nathaniel S. Butler, NBAE Getty Images