11:12am: Rondo had a “heated exchange” with one of the Bulls’ assistants on the night of Saturday’s loss to the Mavericks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that Rondo has already apologized to the coach and has accepted responsibility for the incident.
According to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link), Rondo also apologized to other coaches and players, and participated in a team function on Sunday. Head coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters today that he and Rondo had a “good meeting” on Sunday (Twitter link via Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com).
10:48am: The Bulls have suspended point guard Rajon Rondo for one game, the team announced today in a press release. The announcement, which is short on specific details, simply says that Rondo’s suspension is a result of “conduct detrimental to the team.” The veteran will serve the one-game ban during tonight’s contest against the Trail Blazers.
Rondo, who signed a two-year contract with the Bulls in the offseason, has struggled in the early going for his new team. He is averaging just 8.2 PPG, his lowest mark since his rookie season, and his .391 FG% represents a career low. Rondo has at least been effective on the glass, chipping in a career-high 6.7 RPG to go along with 7.2 APG.
With Rondo sidelined tonight and Michael Carter-Williams still out of action due to knee and wrist problems, Isaiah Canaan and Jerian Grant could see increased roles at the point guard spot for Chicago. Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler also figure to have the ball in their hands quite a bit on offense.
While there’s no word yet on the exact nature of Rondo’s violation, we’ll pass along updates if and when we heard details on what he did to to prompt the one-game suspension from the Bulls.
Start Grant in his place. Worked nicely last time they played the Blazers.
Hahahaha. That didn’t take long. GarPax better watch out. They’re next.
Love Rondo. And he loves driving fast Kias. He has a Forte and an Optima. Both are sick, top of the line.
Rondo tends to have a lot of heated exchanges with a lot of players.
And by players I mean people.