The Dallas Mavericks are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to destroy the reputation of Rajon Rondo.
First, there was benching him with an allegedly made-up back injury during the playoffs. Then, there was denying him a playoff share. Combined with his poor performance after being acquired, it's enough that Rondo's market, once thought to be in the max-contract territory, has become tepid.
Now, Dirk Nowitzki may be taking things a step too far.
Nowitzki was on KTCK-AM 1310 radio and revealed that Rondo lost at Connect Four while a member of the Mavericks:
I did not, but I saw him get beat though. Before the game, one of his first games, one of the Mavs' employees brought a Connect Four over and it was just sitting there. I think Charlie V played him one time real quick. I walked by, it was before the game and everyone has their routines, and I walk by and Charlie put the last one in to beat him. So it was like a melee back there. They were yelling and screaming. And I was like, 'What's going on here? It's gameday. We have a game in less than an hour.' That was huge for Charlie. He let Rondo hear that for the next couple of weeks for sure.
This is something that Rondo, a noted and ruthless expert at the game, will surely take exception to and deny. Rondo is said to be unbeatable, even when playing multiple games at once.
This raises so many questions. What's Charlie Villanueva's secret to getting inside Rondo's head? Is this what shook Rondo's confidence and caused his shaky late-season performance? Will this suppress the market for Rondo even further?
Everything we knew to be true has been shaken.
