Rondo: Relationship with Karl has 'not been going too well'
If you had "negative two weeks" in the "how long into the season will the Sacramento Kings implode" pool, congratulations. You may be the winner.
One training camp and four preseason games into his tenure with the team, Rajon Rondo has admitted to butting heads with head coach George Karl. Asked by Cowbell Kingdom on Tuesday how the relationship was developing, Rondo was honest about it being a difficult process.
"It's not been going too well," Rondo said. "We got into a couple arguments the last couple days. Hopefully we continue to talk and get better."
A follow-up question about the nature of their arguments could have provided more insight, but without it Kings fans will simply have to hope this is a matter of two passionate basketball minds figuring out the best on-court approach to things.
On Wednesday, some clarification may have come via CSN's James Ham.
Hearing that Rondo's comments in the locker room last night were tongue and cheek. Should had clarified, but he thought it was understood.
— James Ham (@James_Ham) October 14, 2015
Rondo signed a one-year, $10-million deal with the Kings this summer, accepting a shorter deal in order to rehabilitate his image. After his play declined in Boston, Rondo was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks but quickly fell out of favor with Rick Carlisle, ultimately (unofficially) parting ways with the team in the middle of their first-round playoff series.
Karl, who is already working on repairing one relationship after publicly clashing with superstar DeMarcus Cousins, said in August that he sold Rondo on Sacramento in part by offering him freedom.
"I think he wants to lead our team but he also wants to be part of the decision-making, and that can be somewhat combustible," Karl said at the time. "But it can also work at a high level because I think we're all trying to make the team the best."
Karl has dealt with mercurial point guards in the past and found success, so it may just be a matter of time before the two learn to trust each other and find some symbiotic ground with the offense. It's perhaps a positive that Rondo seemed to speak of the development curve as a normal reality rather than something upsetting him.
In four preseason games, Rondo is averaging five points and 5.5 assists, shooting 50 percent from the floor in 22.1 minutes. More concerning than the modest numbers is that the Kings' offense has stagnated with Rondo on the floor, scoring 97.1 points per 100 possessions, a rate that would have ranked 29th in the NBA last season.