Now that he seems to have the DeMarcus Cousins’ debacle in his rear view, George Karl is doing everything he can to endear himself to the Kings’ roster.
In the first Sacramento preseason game on Monday night against Portland, with the Kings and Blazers tied with under 10 seconds left on the clock in regulation, Karl let none other than Rajon Rondo (who wasn’t even in the game) draw up the Kings’ final play.
Karl said that the play Rondo drew up (which ended with a Darren Collison missed running jumper that sent the game into overtime) was a play that wasn’t even in the Kings playbook, and that he believed it was a play that Rondo learned from Boston running the play for Paul Pierce.
Although he has had a disastrous fall from grace, Rajon Rondo does have an extremely high basketball IQ, so it’s not shocking he has some play designs in his head. What is surprising is that Karl would let him draw one up in such a big moment, even in a preseason game.
Sacramento is an interesting fit for Rondo, who will certainly be using this opportunity to try and prove to the rest of the league that he can still play at an elite level. If it works out for the Kings, they have a dynamic playmaker in the backcourt. If it doesn’t, however, they may be dealing with a volatile locker-room presence that can bring the entire team down with him – just ask Dallas.
For now though, everything seems to be going pretty well in the marriage between the Kings and the former All-Star point guard. In terms of his on the court performance, Rondo scored five points and grabbed five rebounds in his Sacramento debut. Check out the highlights below.
