Rajon Rondo and the Dallas Mavericks were always an awkward fit. He was supposed to upgrade the defense -- and he did -- but they didn't need a ball-dominant point guard or a disruption to their spacing. Since acquiring him in December, the Mavericks have not been able to figure out how to use him, and head coach Rick Carlisle benched him after he played 10 minutes in their Game 2 loss to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday.
Rondo will be a free agent in July, and it's looking like he and Dallas are headed toward a divorce. From Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski:
When Rondo realized his run with the Celtics was over this year, he planned to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer, league sources told Yahoo Sports. He expected a maximum contract. Once Dallas made the trade, he was open to re-signing with the Mavericks – only there are no max contract offers for Rondo on the market. Not in Dallas, nor Los Angeles. He's played his way out of that payday – not just this year, but since that terrible ACL injury two years ago.
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Everything's pushing Rondo closer to his inevitable free-agent fleeing to the Lakers this summer. As long as the coach is back, Rondo's gone, sources told Yahoo Sports. The parting could be mutual.
The hope, of course, was that Rondo would rediscover himself in the postseason, that the magnitude of the moment would bring the best out of him. The thought was that Carlisle, a master tactician, would find a way to maximize his strengths and hide his weaknesses when given extra time to prepare in the playoffs. This has not happened, with the exception of a phenomenal second quarter in the first game. The Mavs have been better with Rondo on the bench against Houston, just like they were on average throughout the regular season.
If Rondo is indeed done in Dallas as long as Carlisle is back, then we might as well start thinking about possible destinations right now. It's hard to imagine Carlisle and the Mavericks parting ways. We know Kobe Bryant loves him and the Los Angeles Lakers rumors will never stop, but do they still want to pay him major money while rebuilding? After what happened to Dallas' offense, do the New York Knicks really want to put him in the triangle? Given how those major market teams played this season, it's a bit depressing to even think of him wearing either one of those uniforms, even more so because he'll sort of always be a Celtic. Here's hoping he surprises us and does something different.
