Rajon Rondo Discussion: He's A Cleveland Cavalier

YOU’RE getting on someone for being negative? That’s rich.

 

Rondo is one of the smartest players in the league, he's basically coach material.

He is a perfect mentor for Lonzo.

He brings playoffs experience to the team.

His contract is for one year.

His middle name is Pierre.

 

We're not going to compete with the Warriors anyway. We'll beat the Rockets if it comes to that. I said it.

 

Three. Luke is still the head coach. Bron is more of a GM, he does not coach that much. So, 2 1/2 really.

 

Rajon is a jerk, no doubt about that, but he always seems to have a group of teammates that go to bat for him. He also was stellar in the playoffs just a few months ago.

10.3 points 7.6 rebounds 12.2 assists 1.4 steals 0.2 blocks 3.7 turnovers in 33.6 minutes

He shot just 41.3% from the field, but 42.1% from deep (8/19). Still not a good FT shooter though, just 64.3%.

And by the way since Rondo's trade to Dallas he's a 35.7% three point shooter which isn't restrictively bad. Still fairly low volume (just a hair over 2 attempts per game), but competent nonetheless.

I'm not crazy about the amount of money we gave him or the way he de facto was traded for Randle, but he's not an awful pickup either. We wanted him last year for a reason and his numbers in New Orleans mostly improved from his numbers in Chicago.

 

The fit isn't perfect, but if you hand him the keys, your offense is at least going to run. He's one of the smartest players in the league.

The real challenge will be getting him, Stephenson, LeBron, and all the kids on the same page. I don't know for sure, but Rondo has had trouble with coaches in the past. I think like Kobe, if he doesn't respect you Rondo has no problems being an ***hole about it. Luke is going to have his work cut out for him this season.

Interestingly Rondo's USG% is fairly low. He's a lot like Lonzo in that respect. Get the ball, move the ball to the right spot at the right time. Even in the playoffs when he was handing out assists like candy, his USG% was just 18.6%. I don't think he's as bad a fit as people think. The only thing that might be "bad" about it... is that he might outplay Lonzo and keep Lonzo off the court at times.

 

Look, there are two "layers" of reasoning when it comes to these signings. One is obvious: they are very competent players with playoff experience on a 1-year contract. The other one, that people might overlook - they are here as mentors for our young guys (Rondo/Zo, Stephenson/Hart, Bron/Kuz+other wings) to teach them how to be gritty and competitive. All of them fit this mold. When it comes to being the ultimate competitor, being a quiet, nice guy is not going to cut it. That doesn't mean you have to be a thug - but you need to be a tough guy, sometimes even a-hole when it counts. Toughness yes, character issues - no.

Look at Kobe, Shaq, Magic, Worthy, Fox, Artest, Byron, Fish and many other successful Lakers... you would not necessarily describe them as a "bunch of nice guys". Why did we start winning eventually with Odom+Pau? Well, aside from their talent, they learned how to slap KG on the butt, and when he turns around and says - "why you slap my @ss bro"? - they reply "I do whatever the f- I wanna do."

 

Right on the money Karacha!