Rondo has 'nothing but love' for Mavs despite tumultuous tenure
In a perfect world, Rajon Rondo's tenure as a member of the Dallas Mavericks - a dreadful, ill-conceived experiment gone awry - would be stricken from the record.
Dealt to the Lone Star State from the Boston Celtics in a five-player trade near the end of 2014, Rondo's time with the franchise was truly unpleasant. His clashes with head coach Rick Carlisle caused him to be benched during the team's opening-round playoff matchup with the Houston Rockets. And an undisclosed back injury then forced Rondo away from the Mavericks for good.
"Every relationship doesn’t work," Rondo said when asked why his run in Dallas ended so poorly, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "It just didn’t work. No excuses, no pointing the finger at anybody. It made me stronger, made me appreciate just playing the game, especially playing at a high level. I never doubted myself. It just didn’t work."
While Rondo only has kind things to say about the team a little under nine months since his last appearance in Mavericks blue, the four-time All-Star does feel his 46-game stint wound up hindering his value in free agency.
"No doubt about it. I had a tough three, four months in Dallas. It hurt, but it helped as well. I’m in a great situation. I have no regrets about what happened in Dallas," he said. "Everything happens for a reason; I’m a big believer in that. And I’ve got great relationships with those guys (with the Mavs), especially on the staff. Guys like Casey Smith, Mike Procopio, my man (Darrell Armstrong), (Mike) Shedd, the equipment managers Al (Whitley) and Craig (Metcalfe), all those guys.
"They’re all good people. They treated me really well. I have nothing but love for that organization. Mark Cuban’s a great guy. I don’t have any regrets. I went through what I went through."
Rondo - who averaged 9.3 points and 6.5 assists on 43.6 percent shooting for the Mavericks - signed with the Sacramento Kings over the offseason on a one-year, $9.5-million contract. He's currently tied for ninth in the NBA in double-doubles with nine, and sits alone in second for triple-doubles with two.
The Kings will visit American Airlines Center on Tuesday night to battle the Mavericks, but will do so without Rondo's services as he's sidelined with lower-back spasms.