Rondo-Carlisle Shouting Match Opens Up Free Agency Opportunity

During Tuesday’s night Toronto Raptor at Dallas Mavericks game, Rajon Rondo and Coach Rick Carlisle got into a shouting match early in the third quarter. Carlisle benched Rondo for the rest of the game, the Mavericks were able to defeat the Raptors 99-92 without their starting point guard.

As per Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com

"The tension between Rondo and Carlisle about play-calling had been brewing for a little while, team sources told ESPNDallas.com. It reached a boiling point when Rondo appeared to blow off a play call from the bench, prompting Carlisle to storm onto the court while calling a timeout and shouting at Rondo, who responded in kind."

Could this be the beginning of the end for Rondo in Dallas? That may be an overreaction to the situation and this may very well be resolved shortly, but in a worst case scenario for Dallas, this might be… For all teams hoping to acquire Rondo this summer as he enters free agency, this is good news.

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Prior to acquiring Rondo, Dallas was by far the best offensive team at 110.1 points per game, 2.6 more points than the second ranked offense in the Golden State Warriors as per NBA.com. Since Rondo’s acquisition, Dallas is scoring 8 fewer points per game, scoring 102.1 points per game good for tenth best offense in the league. Although with the addition of Rondo, Dallas defense has improved, going from the seventh worst in the league to the middle of the pack. Going from allowing 102.7 points per game by the opposition to 98.7 points per game.

Rajon Rondo nearly averaged a double-double with the Boston Celtics this year, averaging 8.3 points and 10.8 assist in 22 games. There has been a significant drop off in Rondo’s assist numbers, dropping to 6.2 assist per game with the Dallas Mavericks. Tim MacMahon best described the situation in Dallas.

"Rondo led the NBA in assists this season before being traded from Boston, but the Mavs don’t need a point guard who dominates the ball. They have playmakers in shooting guard Monta Ellis and small forward Chandler Parsons and need a point guard capable of spacing the floor. That certainly isn’t a strength for Rondo, whose poor jumper has always been his biggest flaw. And Rondo isn’t nearly as explosive as he was before suffering a serious knee injury more than two years ago."

With Rondo skill sets not meshing well with the Mavericks free flowing offense, and now butting heads with the head coach, this opens up the door for an opportunity for New York to may be sign the disgruntled guard this summer.

In two of Carmelo Anthony‘s most successful Playoffs campaigns, the teams had a strong point guard that took most of the leadership burden off Anthony. The 2008-2009 Denver Nuggets went to the Western Conference Finals, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers 2-4. Point guard Chauncey Billups shouldered the leadership burden alongside Anthony. The same can be said for most successful New York Knicks’ Playoff run in over a decade in the 2012-2013 season. Jason Kidd lead the way, running plays and getting everyone to their correct spots, essentially being the coach on the floor for New York.

Rajon Rondo can be in a similar leadership role as Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups. Rondo was able to command the respect of future Hall of Famers in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen in Boston, and should not have any problems commanding the same respect from Anthony. Rondo helped lead the group to a 2008 NBA Championship in his second year in the league. What Rondo can not replicate of Kidd and Billups is their shooting ability, both were sharpshooters from beyond the arc. But let’s not count the chickens before they hatch though, first thing is to try to pry Rondo away from Dallas, even though the Mavericks hold his Bird Rights. As a Knick’s fan we can only hope this is the beginning of the end for Rondo’s time in Dallas.

Rondo-Carlisle Shouting Match Opens Up Free Agency Opportunity

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