Mark Cuban promised Dirk Nowitzki hed get him some help to compete for another title and the Mavs did exactly that Thursday when they traded for Bostons veteran playmaker Rajon Rondo.
Just on sheer talent alone, Rondo gives the Mavs a better shot of winning the West. The four-time All-Star will be a free agent this summer and according to league sources, hes amenable to staying long-term in Dallas.
All you hear about Rondo is that hes a head case and a big attitude problem in the locker room. No doubt, even when the Celtics were the cream of the Eastern Conference in their Big Three era of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, he was a handful for Doc Rivers, and often didnt get along with Allen, most notably.
As Kobe Bryant once noted about Rondo, from what I understand, hes an ahole, like me.
Rondo took it as a compliment: I feel the same way about him.
If only the Lakers could have paired the two. When the Celtics were winning, Rondo delivered huge playoff games during their 2008 title run and when they took Bryant and the Lakers to a seventh game in 2010. Thats why the Mavs had some competition for Rondo, most notably from the Rockets.
Among his big playoff games, he delivered a triple-double on Mothers Day of 2010 in a win in Boston over LeBron James in the Eastern Conference semis. In that tour de force performance that tied the series after four games _ James last one as a Cavalier; hed bolt to Miami two months later _ Rondo became only the third player in playoff history to have at least 29 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Whod he tie? Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain. Yeah, pretty nice company.
Now thats five years ago and Rondo, who turns 29 in two months, has torn an ACL in a knee since then and suffered other injuries, including a broken hand this season. Neither has been impacting his recent play, according to scouts.
The trade should put extra fuel in his tank while giving the Mavs a better chance of knocking off the Spurs, Thunder and Warriors in a playoff series. First off, he gets to leave Boston, going nowhere fast in another rebuilding season and with no light at the end of the tunnel. Go ahead and laugh at this thought: Id rather have Phillys situation than Bostons.
Rondo joins a first-class operation in Dallas, with one of the top coaches in the game in Rick Carlisle. h**l be pumped about playing for a playoff team again, with the Mavs currently 19-8. Thats only good enough for third in their own Southwest Division and sixth in the West, while that record would have them nipping at the heels of first-place Toronto in the East.
But thats why getting Rondo was a must for Dallas. You know who should be equally fired up? Nowitzki. Hes stayed in Dallas and has given the Mavs a hometown discount, re-upping last summer for only $25 million over three seasons. He took a $14 million paycut from last season in the belief that Cuban, along with GM Donnie Nelson, will put the right pieces around him.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/mitchlawrence/2014/12/18/trade-for-rajon-rondo-will-help-nowitzki-mavs/
