Rajon Rondo Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Rondo, Smith, LeBron

December 6th, 2016 at 5:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Rajon Rondo was in street clothes during the Bulls‘ Monday night loss to the Blazers due to a one game suspension by the team resulting from a a “heated exchange” the point guard had with an assistant coach. Rondo’s teammates are ready to move on from the incident, with veteran guard Dwyane Wade telling Nick Friedell of ESPN.com that Rondo understands what he did wrong and that the team still has full confidence in the playmaker’s leadership. “Let’s play,” Wade said when asked what he told Rondo. “He’s going to have enough messages. Our job is to say, “Let’s go, let’s play.” We got to win the game [Tuesday]. This is about basketball. All those things, it’s not my job to stay on him about. He’s been disciplined, they’ve talked about it, he understands and we’ve moved on.”

“He’s going to have fresh legs,” Wade continued. “Whatever happened, the organization took care of it. As players, we support each other and back each other. It’s an emotional game and guys have emotional moments. [The team] handled it the way they thought was best. Now we move on.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

LeBron James has no desire to sit down with Knicks president Phil Jackson to discuss comments the executive made during a recent interview about the Cavs forward, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com relays. “Didn’t affect me, just know how much further we still have to go and how far we still have to go as African-Americans, even in the light of today,” James said about Jackson’s opinions. “For me, I’ve built my career on and off the floor on the utmost respect, and I’ve always given the utmost respect to everyone — all my peers, people that’s laid the path for me and laid the path for coaches, players, things of that nature. I’ve always given respect to them, and it’s always, like I told you before, it’s always shade thrown on me, so. It means we got a lot more work to do, myself and the team.“
The Cavaliers received some good news regarding J.R. Smith, who exited Monday night’s contest against the Raptors after suffering a left knee injury in the first quarter. Smith underwent an MRI today that showed no damage and the guard’s status is considered day-to-day, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter).
Bulls training camp cut and D-League affiliate player,D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, has been waived by the Windy City Bulls, Chris Reichert of The Step Back reports (Twitter link). The 23-year-old made six appearances for Windy City, averaging 3.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 11.1 minutes per outing while sporting a slash line of .269/.091/.600.

Bulls Suspend Rajon Rondo For One Game

December 5th, 2016 at 11:12am CST by Luke Adams

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.

Mavericks Notes: Nowitzki, Bogut, Rondo, Barnes

December 4th, 2016 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Shortly after being ruled out indefinitely with a lingering Achilles problem, Dirk Nowitzki told reporters he is “all in” for the rest of the Mavericks’ season, relays Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. Soreness in his right Achilles tendon has limited Nowitzki to five games this season. The problem began after he played 38 minutes on opening night. The veteran forward, who re-signed this summer for $50MM over two years, said he remains committed to this season despite the pain and Dallas’ 4-15 start. “This is obviously not a career-ending injury that I’ve got,” he said. “It’s something that just keeps lingering unfortunately. I can hopefully get over it. There’s still a lot of season left. December just started. We know that there’s a lot of games coming, so hopefully sometime soon I’ll be out there and then stay out there. I don’t want to jump in and out of the lineup with soreness or fight this whole year. I’d love to be healthy and stay out there once I go.”

There’s more from Dallas:

Center Andrew Bogut says the Mavericks have to turn things around quickly to have any hope for the playoffs, tweets Dwain Price of The Fort Worth Star Telegram. “We probably honestly genuinely got about a month left to try and salvage this season,” Bogut said before Saturday’s win over the Bulls. The Mavericks’ performance over the next few weeks may determine if Bogut remains with the team all season. He will be a free agent next summer and could be traded before the February 23rd deadline if Dallas isn’t in contention.
Coach Rick Carlisle remains a supporter of Rajon Rondo even though they had a rocky relationship during the point guard’s time in Dallas, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Carlisle gave a glowing report about Rondo to the Bulls’ coaching staff when the team was considering making an offer to him in free agency. “I’ve recommended Rondo to a couple teams who have called me about him the last couple years,” Carlisle said. “As a competitor, you’re not going to find a guy better or more resourceful. It didn’t work out here for various reasons. It just was not a good fit. We did everything we could to make it work.”
Harrison Barnes is still adjusting to being a primary scorer after starting his career as a complementary piece in Golden State, writes Pat James of The Charlotte Observer. The Mavericks gave Barnes a four-year, $94MM contract this summer and promised him a larger role in the offense. “You just have to go and be aggressive,” he said. “That’s just the mentality coach has been trying to get me to be in this entire season. When he [Carlisle] draws up that play, it can’t be that I’m indecisive or thinking, ‘What play should I do?’ It’s just got be, ‘Make a read, and make or miss you live with the result.’ ”

Mavs Notes: Acy, Nowitzki, Rondo, Carlisle

November 28th, 2016 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we passed along comments from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who said on Sunday night that his team doesn’t have any interest in tanking this season, despite a league-worst 3-13 record so far. Cuban’s thoughts on tanking, the 2017 draft, and not wanting his team to grow accustomed to losing created the most interesting Mavs-related headline of the day, but there are plenty of other notes out of Dallas to round up. Let’s check them out…

The D-League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders have claimed Quincy Acy off waivers, but will trade him to the Texas Legends in a deal that involves a 2017 first-round pick, reports Chris Reichert of The Step Back (via Twitter). Acy was waived by the Mavs earlier this month, and is now on track to join Dallas’ D-League affiliate, once the claim and trade are made official.
Dirk Nowitzki returned to action last week, but his Achilles issues are expected to linger into December and won’t go away overnight, as Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. Nowitzki sat out Sunday’s game against the Pelicans, and will likely continue to sit out the occasional game going forward to avoid any setbacks, per head coach Rick Carlisle.
Although his time in Dallas didn’t work out like he hoped it would, Bulls point guard Rajon Rondo praised Carlisle, telling K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune that he has “a lot of respect” for his former head coach. “Just because things don’t go well doesn’t mean you hate a person or that the media perception is right,” Rondo said. “Rick and I had a good relationship in the beginning. We tried to work it out. I worked with him every day on my shot. We watched film together. Not every marriage works. It was a learning process.”

Bulls Notes: Rondo, Butler, Hoiberg

November 22nd, 2016 at 7:57pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Rajon Rondo doesn’t see playing alongside Jimmy Butler–a player who can dominate the ball–as an obstacle this season, Vincent Goodwill of Comcast Sportsnet relays. “[Butler is] so unselfish, he’s gonna get a lot of the plays,” Rondo said “He’s our best player so never really fought him for anything like that. I know when teams make a run, who we get the ball to. They know as well. It’s no secret. When you play with a guy as unselfish as him, I don’t need to control the ball as I used to back in the day.”

Rondo also said that his time in Dallas helped him to expand his game. “You find a ways to make yourself effective and efficient on the court when you don’t have the ball,” he added.

Here’s more from the Bulls:

Coach Fred Hoiberg is a fan of what Rondo brings to the Bulls, Goodwill passes along in the same piece. “You look at our pace when he’s on the floor, it’s so much better than when he’s off,” Hoiberg said. “You can see the impact Rondo can have by getting us out early in the first; he’s got great energy out the gate. He’s been so good.”
Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders believes signing Rondo was one of the worst moves of the offseason. The Bulls entered the day with a record of 9-5 and Dowsett argues that the team would be just as good without the 30-year-old point guard. Rondo missed two games this season with an ankle injury and the team won both games.

Eastern Notes: Bulls, Beasley, Augustin, Stauskas

November 20th, 2016 at 7:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls have solved the chemistry issues that plagued them all last season, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. A power struggle ended when Derrick Rose was traded to the Knicks and Joakim Noah joined him there as a free agent, leaving Jimmy Butler as the clear leader in Chicago. He helped the team replace its lost talent by recruiting free agents Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo. “We all enjoy each other’s company, man,” Butler said. “Even when we’re not playing basketball. Even if we’re throwing a football, if we’re playing cards or just sitting there talking. Everybody’s locked in. Everybody’s having fun and everybody wants to get to know each other a little bit better. I think that’s the major difference. We spent a lot of time off the floor together, which I didn’t know could help so much, but it really does.”

There’s more news out of the Eastern Conference:

Bucks forward Michael Beasley still considers himself a young player because of the time he spent out of the NBA, relays Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Now 27, Beasley is getting used to a new team after being traded from Houston to Milwaukee in September. “My first step is really what I’ve built my game on, if you’ve watched my career,” he said. “That’s how I get my offense going, because a lot of people can’t stay in front of me. And a lot of people have trouble guarding left-handed players.”
Now on his eighth team in six seasons, backup point guard D.J. Augustin is hoping for some stability with the Magic, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. He signed a four-year, $29MM deal over the summer, but understands that isn’t a guarantee he will spend all four seasons in Orlando. “It feels good to know that I’m going to be here for a while, but you never know what can happen in the NBA,” Augustin said. “Even though guys sign long deals, they still get traded. Anything can happen, so I still have that in the back of my mind.”
Nik Stauskas blames lost confidence for a poor first season with the Sixers, according to Kevin Cooney of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Stauskas believes in his game again, and it has shown with six straight double-digit scoring nights. The third-year guard is now comfortable with his role as a scorer off the bench. “Now it’s just one of those things where I’m enjoying myself again, I’m having fun out there,” Stauskas said, “and I think that’s when I’m most effective, when I’m having fun and, like coach [Brett] Brown says, being a little bit cocky and playing with swagger. That’s when I feel like I’m at my best.”

Central Notes: Bucks, Pistons, Rondo, Wade

November 8th, 2016 at 12:31pm CST by Luke Adams

While players from many teams around the NBA will be watching today’s U.S. election results closely, the voting results could have an even more significant impact on the Bucks. According to Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times, many league observers believe that one of the Bucks’ three majority owners, Marc Lasry, may give up some or all of his duties with the franchise to take on a government position if Hillary Clinton wins. Lasry is a Democrat and a strong supporter of Clinton. Of course, the results aren’t in yet, and the possibility of Lasry’s departure appears to be informed speculation at this point, but it’s worth keeping an eye on if Clinton becomes the next president.

Here’s more from around the NBA’s Central division:

Pistons owner Tom Gores reiterated on Monday that his team is “making progress” on negotiations to team up with the NHL’s Red Wings and move his franchise to downtown Detroit. “In the next few weeks, we’ll know for sure,” Gores said, per Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
As Keith Langlois of Pistons.com details, Gores has also been pleased with the way the Pistons have been able to better the community during the five years he has owned the team, suggesting that the franchise’s ability to have a local impact has exceeded his expectations. “Our ability to impact the community has been more than I ever thought in my life,” Gores said. “As much as I would like to win a championship, the real championship is to affect the city and impact the city. It’s beyond anything I could have expected, to be honest.”
Rajon Rondo‘s “occasional surliness may have irritated superiors” in the past, as Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe writes, but the veteran point guard has meshed well in Chicago with Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg and former adversary Dwyane Wade so far, per Washburn. “We had battles, but I had battles with a lot of guys,” Wade said of Rondo. “When the opportunity presents itself, you always want to play with people that you respect, people that you feel are competitors and you know what they’re going to bring on a nightly basis. Rondo signing here was another eye-opener for me.”

Central Rumors: James, Pacers, Bulls, Pistons

September 29th, 2016 at 10:40am CST by Dana Gauruder

LeBron James averaged a career-low 35.6 minutes per game during the regular season last year and Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue plans to limit his minutes even more this season, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com reports. Lue is determined to keep James and his other veteran players fresh heading into the postseason as they try to defend their championship, McMenamin adds. “I’ve looked at the schedule, just seeing what makes sense and what’s smart when playing four-in-five type of nights,” Lue told McMenamin. “Can’t run our guys into the ground. We have to be smart, understand we have to take care of our bodies and take care of our key guys. Make sure that when we get to the playoffs we’re ready to go.”

In other news around the Central Division:

Pacers power forward Kevin Seraphin thought he might end up in Europe this season because there was so little interest in him during free agency, Jim Ayello of the Indianapolis Star writes. Seraphin signed a two-year, $3.6MM deal with Indiana after a poor season with the Knicks in which he was overweight, missed games with a knee injury and lost confidence, Ayello continues. Seraphin fired his agent and thought he’d end up in Europe until the Pacers came to the rescue, Ayello adds. “It was tough,” Seraphin told Ayello. “All that waiting. I kept thinking, ‘How the (heck) do I not have an offer?’ I feel like I’m young, and I still have a lot of potential; I still have a lot in the tank.”
Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo have taken leadership roles in the Bulls’ early practices, Sam Smith of Bulls.com reports. They have already done some on-court counseling to their younger teammates and that’s an encouraging development for a team that suffered through chemistry problems last season, Smith adds. “You just want to cut down all the chatter,” Rondo told Smith. “Only a couple of guys should be talking in practice. As far as disrupting, when they do stop practice coach has the voice, then assistant coach has the voice and then the other players.”
The Pistons gave journeyman power forward Jon Leuer a surprisingly lucrative four-year, $41MM contract this summer because of his offensive versatility but he’s also making a strong impression defensively in training camp, according to Aaron McMann of MLive.com. “The one thing I would say I’m surprised with is that he’s a lot better defensively than I thought,” coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy told McMann. “I thought he was decent – maybe average – defensively. I think he’s got a chance to be a lot better than that.”

Bulls Notes: Felicio, Hoiberg, Wade, Dinwiddie

September 25th, 2016 at 7:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

Chicago’s offseason moves should give Cristiano Felicio an opportunity for more playing time, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. The 6’10” Brazilian center appeared in just 31 games with the Bulls during his rookie season and spent much of the year with Canton in the D-League. However, he stood out as part of Chicago’s summer league squad that won a championship in Las Vegas. The Bulls lost both Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol in free agency over the summer. Robin Lopez, who was acquired from the Knicks in the Derrick Rose trade, is the only true center on Chicago’s roster, which could mean a lot more playing time for Felicio. “I learned so much because the Bulls last year, they had a lot of big guys and they were always talking to me and giving me tips,” he said. “It was my first year and I didn’t know what to expect through the season and they were always talking to me, telling me what to do and what not to do in the NBA. It for sure helped me a lot in my first year.”

There’s more news out of Chicago:

Coach Fred Hoiberg once again seems to have a roster that doesn’t fit his preferred style of play, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Hoiberg promised a pace-and-space system when he became head coach, but he hasn’t been given the outside shooters to make that work. This summer’s top two additions, Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo, are both more slashers than shooters. The only change in Hoiberg’s staff was the addition of Dr. Wendy Borlabi as a “high performance coach” who is focused on the mental aspects of the game.
Bulls management has talked about limiting Wade’s minutes during the regular season so he can be more effective in the playoffs, Johnson writes in the same story. The Heat did the same thing last year, as Wade averaged a career-low 30.5 minutes and stayed healthy enough to play in 74 games. “In Miami, Coach Spo [Erik Spoelstra] wanted me to play 30 minutes a game in the regular season, and when he told me that the year before, I wasn’t on board,” Wade said. “But [in 2015-16], he wound up doing it and it was successful for me. Every year is different. I work very hard, man. I just need to take care of my body, especially as I get older. I always have the mentality that I’ll do whatever for my team that I need to do. But I’m not trying to play 40 minutes.”
Spencer Dinwiddie probably comes into camp as the favorite to back up Rondo at point guard, according to Sam Smith of NBA.com. Dinwiddie, whom the Bulls traded for, waived and re-signed over the summer, will get competition from rookie Denzel Valentine and Jerian Grant.

Pacific Notes: Cousins, Curry, Suns, Warriors

September 10th, 2016 at 9:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings are losing leverage the longer they hold onto DeMarcus Cousins, contends Shaun Powell of NBA.com. The All-Star center has two seasons left on his current deal, making nearly $17MM for the upcoming season and more than $18MM in 2017/18. Powell believes teams will be less likely to trade for Cousins as his free agency date nears, and Sacramento will have a hard time keeping him if he stays until the end of his contract. The writer isn’t a fan of the Kings’ offseason moves, as they made little effort to re-sign league assist leader Rajon Rondo, drafted two unproven big men, put Rudy Gay on the trading block and signed 30-year-old Arron Afflalo.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

The Kings made a mistake by letting Seth Curry get away, writes A.J. Neuharth-Keusch of USA Today. Even though Curry has only appeared in 48 NBA games, he showed promise at the end of last season, averaging 16.4 points, 5.3 assists and 3.3 three-pointers per night over his final seven games. Curry signed a two-year, $6MM deal with the Mavericks in July.
Devin Booker‘s great rookie season has created a logjam in the Suns‘ backcourt, according to Dan Feldman of NBCSports.com. Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight both see themselves as lead guards, and Booker has earned starters’ minutes with his performance in 2015/16. Bledsoe and Knight are signed for the next three seasons and Booker is under team control for the next four years, so Phoenix has time to work out the situation if all three players are willing to share minutes. Otherwise, Feldman suggests it’s a good situation for a trade.
Things aren’t perfect for the Warriors, even after winning 73 games and signing former MVP Kevin Durant, cautions Monte Poole of CSNBayArea. Coach Steve Kerr is concerned about the defensive dropoff after losing centers Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli. Golden State added Zaza Pachulia in free agency to help compensate for their departure. “The thing that’s different will be a lack of rim protection,” Kerr said. “We had great rim protection from Bogut and Ezeli, and both those guys are gone. Zaza’s a very good defender, but he’s more of a positional guy than a shot blocker.”