Rajon Rondo’s highly competitive nature has helped turn him into one of the best point guards in the NBA, but his stubbornness has also made him difficult to coach.
Rondo has developed a reputation for being tough to coach and does not disagree with the label. There was some speculation that Doc Rivers wanted to leave the Boston Celtics in part because of his difficulties handling Rondo. And when Brad Stevens was named as the new Celtics head coach, many instantly speculated that Rondo would be traded.
Only GM Danny Ainge knows if Rondo will be traded, but what we do know is that Rondo doesn’t like being billed as a coach killer.
Former Celtics player and current C’s broadcaster Cedric Maxwell told Yahoo! Sports Radio about a private phone conversation he had with Rondo on July 4.
“On the Fourth of July, I happened to be walking on one of the beaches of Boston, ran into Rajon Rondo’s brother, had him give Rondo a call and I spoke to Rondo personally about this,” Maxwell told Yahoo! Sports Radio. “Rondo said to me, ‘Look, I am not a coach-killer,’ so I think that he wants to get in here, he wants to work hard, he wants to get along with the coach, and he feels like he’s been put into an unfair picture of being such a hard, difficult guy to coach.”
Maxwell admits that Rondo is stubborn and tough to coach, and he thinks that is partially because Rondo entered the league with a chip on his shoulder after falling in the draft.
[Related: Rajon Rondo sounds interested in playing for Brad Stevens]
Whether Rondo is a coach killer or not will likely be manifested this season. His relationship with Stevens will be one of the interesting storylines to watch throughout the year. But as we told you before, and based on what Maxwell says, it seems like Rondo wants to prove people wrong.
