Rajon Rondo reminded everyone this week of why he is not the most popular player in the NBA. The Boston Celtics guard reportedly skipped a team trip to Sacramento without permission to remain in Los Angeles for his birthday. Those who have followed Rondo’s career were not stunned by the news, which says a lot.
Prior to tearing his ACL last season, Rondo was widely considered to be one of the best point guards in the NBA. He is a below-average shooter but has the ability to take over a game and get all of his teammates involved offensively. His attitude has a tendency to rub people the wrong way, but does that make him one of the worst point guards in the NBA?
On Thursday, ESPN.com posted an article about the most overrated and underrated players in the NBA. One anonymous Eastern Conference scout slammed Rondo. Deadspin shared part of the Insider column with us:
Three years ago, I was the only scout saying Rondo is overrated, and I was crucified for it. I was saying he was awful. I think he’s a selfish player. He’s only going to pass it to you if he thinks he can get an assist. I’ve seen him come out for pregame warmups with his shoes untied shooting lefty foul shots. For him to come out for a game with that attitude makes me question his work ethic. I’ve never liked his game.
If you play with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen at close to their peak, they’re going to raise everyone’s game. Defensively, Rondo’s a bit of a gambler, and I don’t think his defense is all that. If I was starting a team and had my choice of any point guard, he would be 40th. I mean it. I’d take some backups before him.”
Is playing alongside three potential Hall of Famers like Garnett, Pierce and Allen going to elevate your game? Of course. It would probably even elevate my pathetic game. Rondo is not as good as the Big Three made him look, but taking backups before him? Come on now.
This scout obviously has some sort of axe to grind with Rondo. Some coaches would have a tough time handling Rondo’s personality (Doc Rivers may have been one of them), but ranking him 40th in the NBA at his position is absurd.
Like Deadspin’s Tom Ley mentioned, how is it a knock on Rondo that he’ll only pass to someone if he’s going to get an assist? The idea is to pass to guys who you think have the best chance of scoring, which results in an assist. I think that says enough about this scout’s opinion.
