Rondo on Carlisle dust-up: 'Communication is definitely key'
To hear it from Rajon Rondo, everything is back to normal.
The Dallas Mavericks point guard spoke to media for the first time Friday about the verbal altercation he had with head coach Rick Carlisle during Tuesday's game, earning him a one-game suspension and firing up the rumor mill about his future in Dallas.
"We just had a little discussion on the court and it led to a suspension," Rondo told reporters, according to Dwain Price of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram. "I think he had some frustrations with me and vice versa."
This echoes exactly what Carlisle said Wednesday.
"The incident last night was borne, in large part, from poor communication between him and I," Carlisle said. "That is on both of us."
As anyone who has a spouse or significant other can attest, 95 percent of disagreements can generally be attributed to communication or lack thereof. Rondo comes with a reputation of being mercurial and Carlisle is known as a no-nonsense coach.
Rondo and Carlisle apparently had an even more heated exchange in the locker room after Tuesday's game against the Toronto Raptors, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas.
"Communication is definitely key in this situation," Rondo said. "And we've had a couple of talks since then and we're going to move forward."
Rondo expanded on the situation, as reported by MacMahon:
I just got built-up frustration I take a lot of the blame for what I've been doing on the court ... Coach and I, when I first got here, we were talking a lot and watching film after every game. He's backed off a little bit with the addition of Amar'e (Stoudemire), trying to help get him up to speed. Our communication was great at first. Not that it wasn't so great, but it's just that we weren' communicating enough. That shouldn't be the case the rest of the season.
Carlisle agrees the story is old news now.
"I know that you guys need to ask (Rondo) a couple of questions, but I'm done talking about it and our other players are done talking about it," Carlisle said Friday. "It’s over. Certainly in NBA time it's light years ago."
Disagreements between coaches and point guards happen, but this takes on added interest given Rondo's impending free agency. It's no secret Kobe Bryant is trying to lure him to the Los Angeles Lakers.
That means nothing right now though - the only games that matter for the Mavericks are the final 22 and the playoffs. And that's what Rondo says is his sole priority.
"I think we have a great chance to win a championship," he said. "That's my main focus."