Rajon Rondo isn’t happy about his situation with the Chicago Bulls, and he’s willing to burn Sacramento to the ground to tell everyone about it.
The 30-year-old point guard is upset about a stretch of five straight games in late December and early January where he did not see the floor. Rondo had a wide-ranging interview with NBA.com’s David Aldridge that included talk about his diminishing role in Chicago and a knock on one of his former teams, the Sacramento Kings.
In addition to the selection of games he missed over the last few weeks, Rondo missed a game earlier in December when he was suspended after an altercation with Bulls coaches. He wasn’t happy when he was given the news he was sitting just before the new year.
Rondo says he was told by a staffer that he wouldn’t name that the team was taking him out of the starting lineup “to save me from myself.”
And Rondo’s reaction?
“I thought it was (bleep),” he said.
Rondo said his role is much different than what was promised him when he signed a 2-year, $28 million deal with the Bulls. Both sides have been quiet about the move, though the Bulls are obviously upset about Rondo’s poor defensive numbers from the last month. Still, he thinks he has value and deserves time on the court. To prove this, Rondo boasted about his gaudy assist numbers during the 2015-16 season with a Kings team that didn’t exactly have the league’s best roster.
“It’s just, maybe, the personnel in this situation,” Rondo says in response. “I mean, last year — I hate to keep talking about last year — but you couldn’t name three people on my team, the Sacramento Kings, and I led the league in assists. You know?
If that’s how Rondo talks about his former team, I can’t imagine what he’s saying about his current one. If he’s not playing in Chicago next season, I can think of another team that’s likely uninterested in his services. Maybe there’s still a spot for him on one of the other 28 squads.
(Via NBA.com)
