Though there were some doubts, but Rajon Rondo’s $9.5 million, one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings ended up being a steal. Unfortunately the deal didn’t provide the Kings with a more certain ability to retain the star point guard.
via ProBasketballTalk:
Rondo is leading the NBA in assists per game (10.7) and triple-doubles (four). He’s grabbing a career-high 7.1 rebounds per game.
But the Kings were wrong about the length of Rondo’s one-year contract. It’s a potential problem.
Rondo will become an unrestricted free agent next summer, and the Kings won’t even have Bird Rights or Early Bird Rights on him. They should have enough cap space to keep him if Non-Bird Rights – a form of Bird Rights that allows a team to pay 120% of his previous salary – aren’t enough, but their flexibility is limited.
Rondo’s image has been improving and when he becomes a free agent again, there will indeed be more suitors. DeMarcus Cousins however has a plan to keep Rondo.
via Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports:
Cousins expects Rondo to be in a Kings uniform with him next season when a new downtown arena opens.
“He ain’t going nowhere. I will kidnap him myself,” Cousins told Yahoo Sports.
Rondo said he’d been wanting to play with the “best big man in the game” for the past three years, so does that mean he’s re-signing with the Kings next offseason?
“In the words of K.G., ‘Anything is possible,’ “ Rondo told Yahoo Sports.
Considering the Clippers did something similar with DeAndre Jordan, it might just work.
