Rajon Rondo’s brief stint with the Dallas Mavericks last season flopped worse than Vlade Divac in the early 2000s. The four-time All-Star point guard was acquired by the team last trade deadline but proved himself to be a square peg in a round hole within head coach Rick Carlisle’s offense. Rondo averaged just 9.3 points per game and 6.5 assists per game in 46 appearances as a Maverick. Not to mention that he butted heads with Carlisle (both in public and in private), quit on the team in their first-round defeat to the Rockets last postseason, and hightailed it out of Dallas-Fort Worth upon the end of the season, burning all of his bridges along the way.
Surprisingly however, Rondo, now a Sacramento King, has nothing but good things to say about the Mavericks organization. Ahead of Tuesday’s game in Dallas, his first since leaving the team over the summer, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon relayed for the first time some comments Rondo made after the Mavericks played the Kings in Sacramento earlier this season.
“I had a tough three, four months in Dallas,” said Rondo. “It hurt, but it helped as well. I’m in a great situation. I have no regrets about what happened in Dallas. Everything happens for a reason; I’m a big believer in that.
“They’re all good people,” he continued. “They treated me really well. I have nothing but love for that organization. Mark Cuban’s a great guy. I don’t have any regrets. I went through what I went through.”
Rondo, who has found his groove again in Sacramento to the tune of 12.0 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, and a league-leading 11.5 assists per game this season, appears willing to let bygones be bygones. Though messy, the breakup proved to be best for all parties with Rondo rehabilitating his value and the Mavericks at a surprising 19-15 on the year, good enough for fifth in the Western Conference.
Of course, Rondo could just be attempting to rebuild his public image after some ugly comments he directed towards referee Bill Kennedy last month. But credit to the former Kentucky Wildcat for putting all of last season’s drama behind him and successfully returning to an All-Star level of play this season.
H/T NBA Reddit
