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Rajon Rondo-Mavericks Relationship Over, Should he be a New York Knick?

By William Lee

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It looks like Rajon Rondo’s days in Dallas are numbered, as per Marc Stein of ESPN. When reporters asked Rick Carlisle if he expects Rondo to be in a Mavericks uniform next season, head coach of the Dallas Mavericks flat-out answered “No, I don’t”.

Stein reports that Rondo is out because of a back injury.

"Rondo had initially hurt his back about a week ago, a source said, but the point guard thought he could play through it. He did not inform the Mavericks’ trainers of the issue until after he was called for a blocking foul on Harden, which exacerbated the injury, early in the Game 2 loss.“He sustained a back injury basically at the 11-minute mark of the first quarter last night,” Carlisle said. “He attempted to take a charge on James Harden, hit the ground and from that point going forward probably should not have played any more, but he did. He wasn’t able to play his game or play as well as he can play. Today, it’s not good, so he is going to seek additional opinions. That’s where things are at with him.”"

News of a sudden injury sure seems awfully suspicious…especially since Rondo played less than ten minutes Tuesday night. Although given the option to play Rondo less or more, definitely would go with less for Dallas. When given the chance to play, Rondo had by far the worse +/- for Dallas in game one. Rondo recorded a -25 in 27 minutes of play, scoring 15 points and dishing out five assist.

In game two Rondo looked completely out of it, and utterly uninterested in a crucial game that Dallas needed to win to even up the series if the Mavericks have any notions of advancing past the first round. Somehow in a PLAYOFF game, Rondo managed to get an eight second violation early in the first quarter of game two.

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Then this is how Rondo came out of halftime.

Start of 3rd Quarter

Rondo Foul: Personal (3PF) 11:50

Rondo Technical 11:50

Rondo Foul: Shooting (4PF) 11:40

Rondo Substitution replaced by Barea

Rondo cared so little for his team, he literally took himself out of the game… nothing else can explain these actions. Getting a technical foul, which is detrimental to a team in what at that point and time was still a very close game, coming out of halftime only down two points. Knowing you are in foul trouble and still being overly aggressive on defense…it literally looked like Rondo just wanted to take himself out of the game, out of frustration in the way Carlisle has been using him in the Mavericks’ offensive system (or his lack of use).

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There was already a glimpse of this fraction between Rondo and Carlisle mid-season when they had a shouting match against the Toronto Raptors. This is a major red flag for any team that is looking to sign Rondo this summer via free agency… Rondo should have stayed professional and played out his days in Dallas instead of showing complete lack of interest. You cannot get an eight seconds violation when there is no ball pressure! You cannot take yourself out of the equation by fouling yourself out of the game… That kind of selfishness is going to hurt Rondo in the pocket come summertime.

Should Rondo be a Knick?

Carmelo Anthony was rumored to be recruiting Rondo for 2015 before, it would not be in the New York Knicks’ best interest to sign the once formidable point guard.

Dec 12, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) dribbles the ball against Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo (9) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Yes, once upon a time Rondo was a walking triple-double, collecting ten career playoffs triple-double. Once upon a time a young hard-headed Rondo helped lead a Boston Celtics team to their 17th NBA Championship, but those days are over. The new reality is that Rondo was never the same player after having season ending ACL surgery in 2013.

The Rondo trade for the Mavericks has been a complete nightmare, going from the best offensive team in the league, ahead of the Golden State Warriors with 110.1 points per game as per NBA.com, to a top-seven offense in the league with 102.8 points per game as per NBA.com.

Rondo is a dinosaur in today’s NBA, the league is heading towards pace and space and Rondo does neither. Rondo dribbles the air out of the ball, eating up the whole shot clock to set up a play he wants. Rondo is also a poor perimeter shooter to put it mildly….Rondo career three-point shooting percentage is 26.3%…typically you want your starting point guard to be at least ten percentage points higher… Rondo also has no mid-range game, shooting 32.3% from 16-24 ft. as per NBA.com. Rondo is also tentative to really attack the paint, afraid to be sent to the free-throw, shooting a dismal 39.7% from the charity stripe this season. The opponent literally does not have to guard Rajon Rondo…

Rondo is done in the lone star state, and this maverick has his sights set on free agency. If the Knicks knows what is good for them, they should stay away from this former-star maverick.

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