Rajon Rondo isn't holding his breath for a return to the starting lineup.
The veteran point guard has been playing off the bench for the Chicago Bulls after starting his first 29 games of the season.
A starter for the majority of his career, the four-time All-Star declared earlier this month during a string of DNP-CDs that he would demand a trade if he continued not to see the floor. Since then, coach Fred Hoiberg tabbed him as the "leader of the second unit."
That doesn't appear to be changing.
Asked if he thinks he'll reclaim his starting spot, Rondo told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune:
"Ha. Good one."
The 30-year-old spoke to his coach after Tuesday's shootaround and was informed his role is game to game. The .500 club is reportedly looking to deal the former NBA champ just months after signing him in free agency.
If it's any consolation, he's not the only one who's been relegated to the bench. Michael Carter-Williams was the beneficiary of Rondo's demotion, starting every game at the one-spot since the turn of the new year. That is, until sophomore Jerian Grant got the starting nod over both of them in Tuesday's 100-92 win over the Orlando Magic.
MCW was a healthy scratch and expressed surprise and frustration over that. Hoiberg didn't tell the 25-year-old what he needs to work on, but he did tell reporters that Grant's game better complements that of star Jimmy Butler.
Grant will start Wednesday versus the Atlanta Hawks, while both Rondo and Carter-Williams try to get some burn off the pine.
