Rick Carlisle and Rajan Rondo have not had the best relationship since Rondo was traded to Dallas earlier this season. Back in February, Shay Marie, reported about the verbal exchange between Carlisle and Rondo because he was ignoring a play call.
Ironically, Rondo’s game 2 meltdown against the Houston Rockets seemed to contrast that regular season game where he and Carlisle had that heated exchange because this time, Rondo was whistled up for an 8 second violation from getting caught up with paying too much attention to the play that was being called from the sideline. That amongst other issues like the quick fouls in the beginning of the the 3rd quarter, saw Rondo taking a ride on the bench for the rest of the game. The following day, ESPN reported that Rondo was out indefinitely due to a back injury in game 2. Coincidence? Nah, probably not. I knew something was suspicious about that report and it was confirmed after hearing Rick Carlisle’s response to the question of whether or not he thought Rondo would be returning next season. Carlisle simply answered, “No, I don’t.”
The idea of Rondo being in a Mavs uniform definitely looked good on paper; but lets be real, this was a disaster from the beginning. Rondo is a floor general–he runs sh*t–and Carlisle also needs to run the show, I mean he is the head coach. Rondo’s style of play, though, is definitely most successful when he is just allowed to rock out and not when he is boxed in. Rondo is a DOGMAN when it comes to hoops and he needs to be surrounded by likewise basket ball savages (Paul Pierce and K.G.).
With that being said, Kobe? Byron Scott and company? I hate the Lakers but I would love this move. Kobe would flourish with another ball distributor and like Shay Marie reported, Kobe and Rondo show much respect for one another. Stay tuned though, I’m sure this isn’t the end of this story.
Source: ESPN
