Is Rondo using the Kings?

[Showtime]

All,

It seems to me that before joining the Kings, no one wanted Rondo because he seemed like a he was not the player her was with Boston. It seems he takes a 1 year deal with this team to prove to teams like the Rockets, Knicks, and Lakers he is still worthy of big money.

So is Rondo just using the Kings? If so, why not trade him before the deadline so he doesn't walk and the Kings get nothing?

Okay let's discuss this.

No, a pariah with little to no interest from the league, taking a one-year deal on the cusp of a huge bump in the cap, certainly has absolutely no personal motive in performing well and rebuilding his reputation for the upcoming free agency period.

 

[Showtime]

The league has become a league where your PG needs to be able to shoot from the outside now a days rather than strictly be a pass first PG, otherwise it's difficult to win games especially if the rest of the team is lacking shooting.

Not necessarily. Outside shooting is a must, but it can come from your 2-4 positions and still be just fine. The problem is that Rondo's inability to shoot from deep is exacerbated by the team's overall lack of shooting elsewhere. With that being said, we should all remember what the team was like with IT and Thronton in the backcourt. Everybody was screaming for a pass-first PG so much that when they got a glimpse of Vasquez people were amped for a while. Let that sink in. Andre Miller showed what this team could do with an experienced, pass-first PG, because on a team with no cohesive offensive schemes, a smart playmaker is necessary.

As long as this team doesn't improve its outside shooting, Rondo will be a liability, but I think his ability to get the ball where it needs to be and not be another guy who will take many shots away from DMC and Gay is a net positive.

 

[Amit149]

Fact is, there just aren't many places for him to go. Just a quick run-down of teams in the West, East right now. Also not certain who has the money to sign him, just looking at situations:

Warriors- Nope
Spurs- Would be super interesting, but they still have Parker for 2 more years. Won't move on from him unless he retires with Duncan.
Thunder- Nope
Clippers- Nope
Grizzlies- Possible, but he won't be there first option. They'll want Conley back
Mavs- Hell Nope
Rockets- Nope. Rondo is an anti-Morey ball player. Also they won't be looking for another ball-dominant PG for a long time next to Harden after the Lawson fiasco
Blazers- Nope
Jazz- Very Possible. Need a PG upgrade, but also Exum coming back next season. Might not want to commit big money to a PG
Kings- Yep
Nuggets- Nope. Mudiay is there future
Pelicans- Nope. Have 22 mil committed to Jrue and Tyreke next season. Unless they traded both, which seems unlikely, Rondo doesn't seem like a fit
Suns- Bledsoe, Knight, Goodwin. Too many bodies here for Rondo
Wolves- Nope. Made a long-term commitment to Rubio for the next 3 seasons.
Lakers-Possible, because it's the Lakers, but I doubt they want Rondo crowding the back-court for Clarkson and Russell. Far more likely they spend their money elsewhere in FA. Also doubtful Rondo would commit his last contract to a major rebuilding squad.

East:
Cavs- Nope. Kyrie in place
Raptors- Nope, Lowry in place
Bulls- Very possible, but still have Rose at 20+mil next season and they might want to look at getting Jimmy more playmaking opportunities. Can see this as a viable destination
Hawks- Nope. Teague signed for another season and they'd just turn the team over to Schroeder anyway. Not a good fit.
Celtics- Nope. IT and Smart in place.
Heat- Nope. Committed big money to Dragic last off-season
Pistons- Nope. Committed big money to Jackson last off-season
Pacers- Possible, but very unlikely. Doubt they want to recreate the Rondo-Monta pairing and Hill is signed on for next season.
Knicks- Very possible. Need an upgrade at PG and will want to bring in another big piece to pair with Melo and Porzingis. Big market
Hornets- Nope. Kemba's there guy
Wizards- Nope. Wall in place
Magic- Nope. Payton in place and Dipo would take over for him if they moved on from Payton. Not the right fit
Bucks- Possible I guess, but seems like an awkward fit. MCW already in place.
Nets- Possible, but they might want to rebuild and ship off their few good veterans, rather than try and retool to be an 8th seed. They'll have the money though
Sixers- Nope. They'll deviate a bit from their rebuild plan with their new FO guys, but I doubt it'll start with a max deal to Rondo.


Could be wrong on some of these situations, but the only teams who I could see having any serious interest in Rondo are the Jazz, Knicks and us. Pretty much everyone else is already set at PG.

I agree with most of this and I tried to make the same point in an earlier post.

I think the Jazz are a very unlikely destination, and with Burks and Exum back I doubt they'll shop hard for a PG this summer- another thing about them is that they have a lot of capspace so I think if they were looking for a PG they would be after getting Teague before the deadline (they could still do it and they can offer some young guys or Burks).

You mentioned Chicago as a destination and I think this could be an interesting match, but I'm not sure if they have the money to sign him- if we are to make a Rondo trade I think they are the most probable destination.

But if I had to put my money on it I take Rondo staying with us over the field.

 

[bajaden]

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[King Baller]

Rondo is using the Kings and the Kings are using Rondo. But neither one cares.

 

[206Fan]

This is where I think coaching has a big impact. If Rondo misses a defensive assignment then jogs to the bench after a timeout does anyone call him out? Does anyone lay into him for floating in between two players and letting his man blow by him? I just don't see any accountability on the defensive end with this team other than Willie and Ben being given an incredibly short leash. And with those guys they actually make the right play more often than the wrong one and they still get pulled so there's even less incentive to expend effort on the defensive end.

Our team defense actively encourages other teams to do exactly what they want to do anyway -- shoot over the top -- and it doesn't seem to matter which players are out on the floor, we get burned the same way in every game. The whole point of the pick and roll is to shift the defense out of position to create mismatches, open shots, and seams to attack the basket and we willingly concede those at the first opportunity. So yeah I'd like to see a lot more defensive intensity from everyone but if any of our players actually hounded the ball, fought through screens, denied passing lanes, and hedged ball handlers into double teams they'd be free-lancing outside of the current team defensive scheme.

I talked about this a while ago, but of course...it didn't fly with everyone.

Holding Rondo accountable for defense is important, but we don't do it. He's our worst defender in the starting lineup, and probably 2nd worst defender behind Belinelli. Of course, people just keep asking for a 3&D wing so we can replace our already defensive-minded SG in Ben..which makes 0 sense to me.

We just need Rondo to step up on defense. If we make the playoffs, he's going to start looking like a good defender again...I'd put my money on that.

 

[hrdboild]

I talked about this a while ago, but of course...it didn't fly with everyone.

Holding Rondo accountable for defense is important, but we don't do it. He's our worst defender in the starting lineup, and probably 2nd worst defender behind Belinelli. Of course, people just keep asking for a 3&D wing so we can replace our already defensive-minded SG in Ben..which makes 0 sense to me.

We just need Rondo to step up on defense. If we make the playoffs, he's going to start looking like a good defender again...I'd put my money on that.

I don't buy that he's the second worst defender on the team. Basketball-reference's Drtg stat is usually pretty reliable for comparing defensive contributions among players on the same team and they've got Rondo (106) ranked after only Cousins (102), Cauley-Stein (104), and Koufos (105) and tied with Acy (106). Ben McLemore is next among the guards at 109 and Anderson, Curry, Collison, and Belinelli come after him. He's saved a couple of games already with big defensive plays at the end of the 4th quarter. He also joins Russell Westbrook as the only two PGs grabbing 5 or more defensive boards a game (Batum and Harden join them from the SG position) and he's among the league leaders in steals (as high as 6th before slowing down the last 3 weeks and dropping to 16th).

I've said this before elsewhere, but I think he's conserving energy on defense throughout most of the game and that's the culture that our coaching staff has created by emphasizing pace above everything else and rewarding players who shoot a lot and coast on D with more playing time at the expense of the guys who are actually working hard on defense. The culture needs to change more than the players. These guys are capable of playing defense (well, most of them are anyway) if we had a coaching staff who made that the focus.

I agree that replacing Ben for defensive reasons isn't practical. He's decent enough on that end. Rondo and Darren are capable of defending the PG position when they want to expend the effort. Rudy and Omri are capable of defending on the wing. The one area we could actually improve substantially is the SG rotation -- either by skewing the balance of minutes toward Ben rather than Marco or by acquiring a defensive specialist. For instance, Tony Allen would be the perfect fit for us right now. He could come off the bench at SG or SF and give us 25-30 minutes of active individual perimeter D. And more importantly, he'd set an example for everyone else about coming into a game with the right mindset to have an impact defensively. Rajon Rondo started his career as Tony Allen's teammate in Boston so if anyone can light a fire under him to start taking pride in his defense again it would be the Grindfather himself. Of course Memphis isn't dumb so they're going to hang onto him until his contract runs out at the end of next season.