<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-news-rajon-rondo-truth-playing-lebron-james');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rajon Rondo drops truth bomb on playing with LeBron James');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Rajon-Rondo-drops-truth-bomb-on-playing-with-LeBron-James.jpg"></figure><h1>Rajon Rondo drops truth bomb on playing with LeBron James</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-21T15:25:27-08:00">November 21st, 3:25pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-21T19:14:35-08:00">November 21st, 7:14pm</time><address><a>Nathan Yasis</a>Nathan Yasis is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints, specializing in the NBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Rajon Rondo recently joined The Draymond Green Show, featuring Draymond Green and Baron Davis, to discuss various NBA topics. During the podcast, Rondo reflected on his championship run with the Los Angeles Lakers and his experience playing alongside LeBron James.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-rajon-rondo-tcoaching-bryce-james-nikes-peach-jam">James and Rondo are often regarded</a> as two of the most intelligent players of the modern NBA era, making their partnership on the Lakers a natural fit despite their earlier rivalry during the late 2000s and early 2010s.</p><h2><b>Rajon Rondo and LeBron James together in the Lakers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/LeBron-James-and-Rajon-Rondo-playing-for-the-Lakers.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>When Draymond Green <a href="https://www.twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1859711431316472280" rel="noopener">asked about his time playing</a> with LeBron James, Rondo stated that, “You know, I knew my role at the time. We’re two alphas but at the same time, I pride myself on being a star role player. So, for me, I fell in line, I knew what it was. It was no ego “beating the chest.” I’ma have an opinion which he always respected it, along with the coaching staff. So it was always just a hell of a lot of respect that we had for each other.”</p><p>Rajon Rondo and LeBron James were teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers during their 2020 championship season.</p><p>“Nobody take care of the body like him. He’s arguably the greatest player of all-time, he’s very disciplined. He goes over and beyond what the average or even what some of the great NBA players have done,” he continued.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"It was always just a hell of a lot of respect that we had for each other… He's arguably the greatest player of all time."</p><p>Rajon Rondo on what it was like to play with LeBron James 🙌</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/DraymondShow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DraymondShow</a>)<a href="https://t.co/DyMyPKLg2E">pic.twitter.com/DyMyPKLg2E</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1859711431316472280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>LeBron James taking care of his body</b></h2><p>LeBron James is about to make NBA history as he prepares for his 22nd season, tying Vince Carter for the longest career in league history. Even after two decades on the court, the Lakers star continues to prove he’s among the NBA’s top players and an undeniable force in the game.</p><p>During his 22nd season, Carter served as a role player off the bench for the Atlanta Hawks with no assured spot in the rotation. In contrast, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-mocks-father-time-poster-dunk">James has managed to defy Father Time</a>, maintaining his status as one of the league’s elite players—a feat that continues to astonish fans and analysts alike.</p><p>James likely invests heavily in maintaining his body, possibly to a degree even he might not fully quantify. Whatever his regimen entails, it has clearly allowed him to sustain his elite performance and extend his prime. This commitment has not only prolonged his career but also given the Lakers additional seasons of high-level basketball.</p><h2><b>Winning championships for the Lakers and the Celtics</b></h2><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-rajon-rondo-officially-announces-retirement">Rondo, on the other hand, now officially retired</a>, leaves behind an illustrious career that has cemented his legacy in the NBA. As fans eagerly await his next move, one promising path could be coaching, where his exceptional basketball IQ would undoubtedly make a significant impact.</p><p>Over two seasons together, they appeared in 88 regular season games, with Rondo contributing 7.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game during his time with the team. Rondo retired with career averages of 9.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 7.9 assists.</p><p>Players from the 2020 Lakers championship team frequently emphasize that winning the title under the unprecedented conditions of the NBA bubble was one of the toughest achievements in league history.</p><p>For Rondo, the triumph held even greater significance as he had the chance to celebrate it with his son, adding a deeply personal layer of joy to an already remarkable accomplishment.</p><p>Rondo also holds the rare honor of winning championships with both the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, a distinction that highlights his impactful career.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rajon Rondo drops truth bomb on playing with LeBron James

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-news-rajon-rondo-lakers-title-more-special-celtics-title');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rajon Rondo dishes on why Lakers title was more special than Celtics title');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Lakers-news-Rajon-Rondo-dishes-on-why-Lakers-title-was-more-special-than-Celtics-title.jpg"></figure><h1>Rajon Rondo dishes on why Lakers title was more special than Celtics title</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-21T11:49:51-08:00">November 21st, 11:49am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-21T19:05:49-08:00">November 21st, 7:05pm</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Boston Celtics</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Rajon <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rajon-rondo-playoff-rondo-the-3rd-star-lakers-need-to-win-a-title">Rondo won two championships</a> in his career for the two most historic teams in the league, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2008, Rondo won his first championship with the Celtics as they defeated the Lakers. In 2020, he won his second championship with the Lakers as they defeated the Miami Heat in the bubble.</p><p>Rondo was recently a special guest on the Draymond Green Show, and he shared <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=425&amp;v=axgaiSD-jMM&amp;feature=youtu.be" rel="noopener">which championship means the most</a> to him.</p><p>“You can’t compare the two honestly because in 2020, we were in the bubble so we didn’t get a parade. So I’ve only had one parade and that was the most amazing thing that’s happened to me in basketball,” Rondo said. “That type of love and reaction to see the fans, you’ve seen it this year, but to be a part of it, to get on a duck boat and go on a tour it was amazing. That’s the only opportunity I’ve got to have a parade but at that particular time I won it in 2020 my son was in the bubble with me and that made that moment a little more special winning it in 2020.”</p><p>Some of the players on that Lakers team have said that winning in 2020 was the hardest championship to win because of the circumstances. Rondo probably feels the same, but being able to experience it with his son most likely made the experience feel way better.</p><h2>Rajon Rondo was big part of Lakers’ 2020 championship</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Rajon-Rondo.jpg"><figcaption>David Butler II-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Rajon Rondo is always praised for how he was able to see the floor as a point guard, and that’s what he used during the Lakers’ championship run in 2020. In an interview with JJ <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-jj-redick-admits-hes-a-sicko-after-taking-la-coaching-job">Redick, who is now the coach</a> of the Lakers, Rondo mentioned how he and LeBron James worked together and used their IQ to beat teams.</p><p>“This goes back to the bubble when me and Bron were in the bubble,” Rondo said. “We’re watching the game. I think it was Miami and Boston again. And we were sitting in the room watching the game, and like I said, it went down to the wire. So, Bron’s like, ‘If we get Miami, I got Spo, and if we get Boston, you got Brad [Stevens].’</p><p>“So that was kind of our mindset. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, we’re gonna beat the Heat, or we’re gonna beat the [Boston] Celtics.’ It was more so, if we can outcoach or outplay the coaches on that staff in particular, which two guys we felt that we knew pretty good, we were gonna win.”</p><p>Both Rondo and James have been known for having amazing IQ on the floor, so it’s not a surprise they were trying to outcoach the opposing team instead of outplaying the players.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rajon Rondo dishes on why Lakers title was more special than Celtics title

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-news-rajon-rondo-breaks-down-dpoy-award');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rajon Rondo breaks down what should factor into DPOY Award');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/NBA-news-Rajon-Rondo-breaks-down-what-should-factor-into-DPOY-Award.jpg"></figure><h1>Rajon Rondo breaks down what should factor into DPOY Award</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-11-21T11:42:58-08:00">November 21st, 11:42am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-11-21T11:42:58-08:00">November 21st, 11:42am</time><address><a>Kris Pursiainen</a>Kris Pursiainen is an Associate Editor for all sports based in the NJ/NYC area. Kris brings several years of experience reporting on and writing about professional teams to the table. With experience all over the country as a New York Knicks, New York Jets, New York Mets, Super Bowl LVIII, and Big East beat reporter, Kris has been breaking news and reporting on the NBA, NFL, MLB, and college basketball landscapes for years. Kris is a proud graduate of Fordham University.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Rajon Rondo appeared on the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2143&amp;v=axgaiSD-jMM&amp;feature=youtu.be" rel="noopener">shared thoughts</a> on a range of NBA topics. Stories from his championship runs with the Celtics and Lakers were prominent. And memories from playing with Kevin Garnett and LeBron James throughout his career were plentiful.</p><p>But the perspective Rondo shared on how the league should determine its <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2024-25-nba-media-poll-victor-wembanyama-clear-defensive-player-of-the-year-favorite-over-rudy-gobert">Defensive Player of the Year was especially interesting</a>. Former players across sports have spoken about how analytics are ruining their sport. But Rondo’s take on the matter blends both the traditional and “modern” methodologies.</p><p>“I’m starting to like analytics, but I’m a game watcher as well, I’m a field guy,” said the 16-year NBA veteran. “A lot of things come into play, obviously statistical categories, Plus/Minus on the floor, being able to switch 1 – 5, how you affect the ball, maybe not even  [by] being around the ball but you’re still affecting it, communication.”</p><p>Rondo made four All-Defensive teams in his career. And was constantly praised for his effort and leadership. His title runs with the NBA’s two most-storied franchises give him plenty of experience to work with in regards to what works in the postseason. And he used that perspective to praise players like himself <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-draymond-green-locked-in-on-defensive-player-of-the-year-award">and the Warriors’ Draymond Green</a>.</p><p>“You’ve got to be able to play in the playoffs, he’s got to be able to have an impact on the game without even scoring,” the two-time champion said. “That’s why I think a guy like myself, what a guy like Draymond does, puts you up there for Defensive Player of the Year.”</p><h2><b>Rajon Rondo says Defensive Player of the Year process should be analytics-free</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Dyson-Daniels-guarding-Josh-Giddey.jpg"><figcaption>Dale Zanine-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Advanced analytics are a response to the market’s demand across professional sports for objectivity and foresight. The best front offices are consistently ‘ahead of the curve.’ But analytics are only as useful as the analyst utilizing them knows they can be. And Rondo says they certainly do not replace watching film.</p><p>“I mean there are so many different ways – and it’s not just steals, because how many times are you giving up points when you’re gambling?” asked Rondo on The Draymond Green Show. “So steals can be – you can be on the worst team in the league, lead the league in steals, and you make All-First Team Defense. But you probably lead the league in back-doors or you gamble, and [lead the league in] points scored off of gambles.”</p><p>Someone like the Hawks’ Dyson Daniels is making history with his defense. But not all excellent defensive performances will be captured by the postgame box score. If Daniels’ steal numbers tank for the rest of the season, it would cause betting markets to abandon him as a candidate for the award. But what if the decrease in steals came as a result of teams avoiding him entirely when on offense? Darrelle Revis couldn’t intercept quarterbacks who refused to throw to his side of the field.</p><p>Analytics are important but, as Rondo argued, are not everything when determining impact.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rajon Rondo breaks down what should factor into DPOY Award

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-news-rajon-rondo-arrest-video-shows-police-discussing-career');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA news: Rajon Rondo arrest video shows police discussing career');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NBA-news-Rajon-Rondo-arrest-video-shows-police-discussing-career.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>NBA news: Rajon Rondo arrest video shows police discussing career</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-22T12:07:44-07:00">October 22nd, 12:07pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-22T12:07:44-07:00">October 22nd, 12:07pm</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Former NBA player <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-rajon-rondo-arrested-over-unlawful-possession-of-firearm-marijuana">Rajon Rondo was arrested earlier this year</a> in Jackson County, Indiana, and body camera footage from the incident has now surfaced, shedding light on how the arrest unfolded. The footage, <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2024/10/20/rajon-rondo-gun-arrest-nba-body-cam/" rel="noopener">obtained by TMZ Sports</a>, shows police officers discussing Rondo’s basketball career shortly after pulling him over on January 28.</p><p>Rondo, driving a black Tesla without a properly secured license plate, was stopped by officers who quickly recognized the former Celtics guard. The video shows officers chatting about Rondo’s time in the NBA after obtaining his information.</p><p>“He’s a former basketball player,” one officer said. “He played for a bunch of NBA teams.”</p><p>Another officer chimed in, saying, “Not that I care, I’m just telling you.”</p><p>Later in the encounter, one of the officers asked Rondo directly about his career. “You played in the NBA, didn’t you, buddy?” the officer asked. Rondo confirmed, to which the officer responded, “Wow!”</p><h2><b>Body cam footage reveals arrest as Rajon Rondo reaches plea deal</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Rajon-Rondo-1-brings-the-ball-up-the-court-during-the-second-half-against-the-Miami-Heat.jpg"><figcaption>© Jim Rassol-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Despite the officers’ recognition, Rondo was arrested after they discovered a small amount of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and a gun in his vehicle. The four-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-rajon-rondo-officially-announces-retirement">who last played in the 2021-22 season,</a> faced three charges following the arrest.</p><p>In September, Rondo reached a plea deal with prosecutors, agreeing to plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of unlawful carrying of a handgun. In exchange, the two other charges were dropped. Rondo was sentenced to 180 days in jail, but the sentence was suspended. Instead, he will spend the time on probation, provided he stays out of further legal trouble.</p><p>Rondo, 38, enjoyed a lengthy NBA career, playing for several teams including the Boston Celtics, where he won a championship in 2008, and the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he claimed another title in 2020. Despite his decorated career on the court, this incident marks a troubling chapter in his post-basketball life.</p><p>The released footage adds a new layer to the incident, highlighting how Rondo’s high-profile status did not impact the outcome of the arrest. His agreement to a plea deal has now closed the case, but his future under probation will be closely watched.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA news: Rajon Rondo arrest video shows police discussing career

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/bucks-news-rajon-rondo-doc-rivers-message-coach-bucks');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rajon Rondo reveals Doc Rivers message about helping him coach Bucks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0Rajon-Rondo-reveals-Doc-Rivers-message-about-helping-him-coach0.jpg"></figure><h1>Rajon Rondo reveals Doc Rivers message about helping him coach Bucks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-04T07:24:56-07:00">October 4th, 7:24am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-04T07:24:56-07:00">October 4th, 7:24am</time><address><a href="https://www.downeuclid.com">Evan Dammarell</a>Evan Dammarell is an award-winning sports journalist covering all things Cleveland, including the Cavs, right off the shores of Lake Erie. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>According to reports, former All-Star guard Rajon Rondo is joining the Milwaukee Bucks <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/41593563/rajon-rondo-joins-bucks-guest-coach-training-camp" rel="noopener">in an unspecified role</a> and is currently serving as a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bucks-news-rajon-rondo-guest-coaching-damian-lillard-milwaukee-has-fans-pumped">guest coach in Bucks training camp</a>. But, behind the scenes, the plan for Rondo to join Milwaukee had been in motion for a while. It started at Rondo’s wedding in June when Bucks head coach Doc Rivers gave the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-dwight-howard-awesome-retirement-message-for-rajon-rondo">former NBA guard</a> a simple message.</p><p>“Get your ass to camp,” Rivers told Rondo, Rondo shared.</p><p>Rondo, who last played with the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers in 2021-22 and formally retired from a 16-season NBA career this past April, said he “absolutely” hopes to be an NBA coach someday.</p><p>“There’s a lot of factors that go into coaching,” Rondo said. “You just can’t say, I’m going to be a coach, and then everything works out, and that’s how it happens. So certain personalities have to mesh, [and there’s] a lot of sacrifice. There are certain things that I’m learning. The morning meetings, the amount of hours you’re spending watching film, it’s a lot.”</p><p>Although he shared that he doesn’t have an exact path in mind, Rondo has been assisting players during practice, decked out in Bucks gear, and filling up a notebook with handwritten observations.</p><p>“I’m learning what it looks like,” he said of being on a coaching staff.</p><h2><b>What happened before Rajon Rondo joined the Bucks?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Rajon-Rondo-dribbles-Bucks.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Since last playing in the NBA, Rondo has navigated a pair of legal issues. A May 2022 incident occurred where he was accused of pulling a gun on a woman, resulting in a later dismissed emergency protective order. In January 2024, Rondo was arrested on drug and gun charges. But now, Rondo is focused on his next career steps. Although he declined to say whether he received any offers from other teams, he said he appreciated that Rivers, who coached Rondo for seven seasons in Boston, is giving him this opportunity. Rivers returned the praise.</p><p>“He’s the smartest player I’ve ever coached — and not just smart,” Rivers told ESPN. “He knows when to and when not to say stuff. He’s a great team builder. It’s just fun, and it’s great to have him around.”</p><p>Rondo, a four-time All-Star, led the NBA in steals per game in 2009-10 and assists per game for separate seasons. He made the league’s All-Defensive Team four times and won NBA titles with the 2007-08 Boston Celtics and the 2019-20 Lakers. Rondo averaged 9.8 points, 7.9 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.6 steals in 957 career games.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rajon Rondo reveals Doc Rivers message about helping him coach Bucks

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/bucks-news-rajon-rondo-guest-coaching-damian-lillard-milwaukee-has-fans-pumped');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rajon Rondo guest coaching Damian Lillard, Bucks has fans pumped');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/0Rajon-Rondo-guest-coaching-Damian-Lillard-Milwaukee-has-fans-pumped0.jpg"></figure><h1>Rajon Rondo guest coaching Damian Lillard, Bucks has fans pumped</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-02T07:26:26-07:00">October 2nd, 7:26am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-02T07:26:26-07:00">October 2nd, 7:26am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Suffice to say, last season was a major disappointment for Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks decided to trade away one of the backbones of their 2021 championship-winning roster in Jrue Holiday to bring Lillard in, and yet they ended up becoming a worse team, unable to land on their feet following an offseason filled with changes. They are now looking towards the 2024-25 season as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/damian-lillards-giannis-antetokounmpo-quote-torches-any-bucks-chemistry-concerns">one of redemption</a>, and head coach Doc Rivers brought an old friend to help the Bucks out in their preparations.</p><p>Rivers called upon one of the most important players of the title-winning 2008 Boston Celtics, Rajon Rondo, to come into the Bucks’ first day of training camp and fill the role of a guest coach. On the team’s official Instagram account, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bucks/p/DAmM_TcSUkQ/?img_index=1" rel="noopener">they posted photos</a> of the two-time NBA champion floor general working with Lillard — a player he has come up against in plenty of battles on the court.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/DAmM_TcSUkQ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading"><div style="padding: 16px;"><p> </p><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div><div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"><div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div><p> </p><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DAmM_TcSUkQ/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" rel="noopener" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Milwaukee Bucks (@bucks)</a></p></div></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>Rondo has long been regarded as having one of the best minds in basketball, so to see him become a coach in his retirement should not come as a surprise whatsoever. Rivers has always been a fan of his longtime point guard with the Celtics, and he’s now looking towards Rondo to help him impart some winning wisdom towards Lillard and the rest of the Bucks roster.</p><p>Rondo <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-rajon-rondo-pleads-guilty-to-january-gun-charge">may not have the cleanest slate</a> off the court following his retirement, but Bucks fans are still <a href="https://x.com/Mr_Jofficial/status/1841220135635308934" rel="noopener">pleased to see him</a> work with the team as they look to put the disappointment of last season completely in the rearview mirror.</p><p>“One one of the best on-court minds of all time. Hope he can stay on permanently!!” X user @DeerMuse wrote.</p><p>“Make him an assistant coach for sure. One of the best minds in NBA History,” @Day___24 furthered.</p><p>“Bucks please sign him officially he would be such a valuable mind to developing our chemistry and younger players,” @Mr_Jofficial added.</p><p>As long as Rivers is the head coach for the Bucks, there is a chance that Rondo latches on with Milwaukee on a full-time basis. And with his reputation as one of the smartest players the league has ever seen, perhaps having him around on the bench all season long is worthwhile.</p><h2><b>Can the Bucks reclaim East supremacy now that things have settled?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Bucks-superstar-Giannis-Antetokounmpo-and-All-Star-Damian-Lillard.jpg"></figure><p>The 2023-24 season brought plenty of turbulence to the Bucks franchise. Trading Jrue Holiday (and Grayson Allen) for Damian Lillard was one thing. But they also decided to make a major head coaching change, relieving Mike Budenholzer of his duties after a fruitful stint with the team and then bringing in Adrian Griffin to replace him.</p><p>It became clear rather quickly that the Bucks players were not particularly fond of Griffin. The front office then rectified the situation by firing Griffin in the middle of the season, and then hiring tenured coach Doc Rivers as his replacement. This wave after wave of major changes never allowed the Bucks to get settled, and then Giannis Antetokounmpo’s calf injury just before the playoffs began essentially sealed their fate.</p><p>Perhaps with a full offseason under Rivers and a full year having elapsed since Lillard’s arrival in Milwaukee, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bucks-news-giannis-antetokounmpo-slaps-title-aspirations-harsh-reality">Bucks can regain their footing</a> and reclaim Eastern Conference supremacy from the reigning champion Celtics.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rajon Rondo guest coaching Damian Lillard, Bucks has fans pumped

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-news-rajon-rondo-pleads-guilty-to-january-gun-charge');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rajon Rondo pleads guilty to January gun charge');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Rajon-Rondo-pleads-guilty-to-January-gun-charge.jpg"></figure><h1>Rajon Rondo pleads guilty to January gun charge</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-09-03T08:56:26-07:00">September 3rd, 8:56am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-09-03T08:56:57-07:00">September 3rd, 8:56am</time><address><a>Benjamin Adducchio</a>Benjamin Adducchio is a journalist and writer with more than a decade of experience in covering sports news. Ben is a passionate sports fan who loves college football, basketball, and the New York Yankees.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Former NBA basketball player Rajon Rondo <a href="https://www.wlky.com/article/rajon-rondo-guilty-illegal-gun-possession-no-jail-sentence/62044117?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot" rel="noopener">is pleading guilty</a> to a gun charge, per WLKY-TV, a CBS affiliate. Rondo will not serve time in jail after the plea.</p><p>The former Boston Celtics and Kentucky basketball point guard had charges dismissed for marijuana possession, per a plea deal with prosecutors. The charges stem from <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-rajon-rondo-arrested-over-unlawful-possession-of-firearm-marijuana">a January incident</a> in Indiana, when Rondo was stopped by law enforcement on suspicion of reckless driving. The former NBA player was arrested after an officer allegedly smelled marijuana in Rondo’s vehicle. A search of the car resulted in the law enforcement officer finding the gun. Rondo was taken into custody for illegally possessing a firearm and two drug related charges, including marijuana possession.</p><p>Rondo appeared in an Indiana court Tuesday. He was found guilty of unlawful carrying of a handgun, per the TV station. He was sentenced to pay $189 in court costs and serve six months in jail. Rondo was credited two days for time served and put on probation for the remainder of that period, due to his plea deal.</p><h2>Rajon Rondo has faced legal issues before</h2><p>This is not the first time the former NBA guard has deal with legal trouble. Rondo was accused of threatening a woman with a gun in 2022. The woman received a protective order, that was later rescinded due to an agreement between the two parties.</p><p>Due to a separate protective order against him, Rondo<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rondo-arrested-6957376990e1331ee58d7ee1746f98b6" rel="noopener"> is not allowed</a> to carry a gun, per the Associated Press.</p><p>The former NBA guard won two league championships with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. Rondo last played in the NBA in 2022 with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was known as one of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-dwight-howard-awesome-retirement-message-for-rajon-rondo">the best point guards</a> in the league, with a penchant for great defense. He made the NBA All-Defensive First Team twice in his career. Rondo also was twice named to the All-Defensive Second Team.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rajon Rondo pleads guilty to January gun charge

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/dwight-howard-endorses-rajon-rondo-as-pistons-head-coach');   ga('set', 'title', 'Dwight Howard endorses Rajon Rondo as Pistons head coach');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Pistons-news-Dwight-Howard-endorses-Rajon-Rondo-for-Detroit-head-coach.jpg"></figure><h1>Dwight Howard endorses Rajon Rondo as Pistons head coach</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-06-27T07:48:13-07:00">June 27th, 7:48am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-06-27T07:48:13-07:00">June 27th, 7:48am</time><address><a href="https://medium.com/bingeable">Sonny Giuliano</a>Sonny Giuliano is an experienced sports writer for ClutchPoints who has been covering the NFL, NCAA Football, NBA, and NCAA Basketball for well over a decade. Originally from the small town of Elba, New York, Sonny received his degree from Florida Gulf Coast University and currently resides in Naples, Florida</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Typically when Dwight Howard name-drops one of his former NBA comrades on Twitter, it’s because he’s recruiting them to come <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/dwight-howard-drops-monty-williams-recruitment-pitch-after-pistons-firing">play or coach in Taiwan</a>. But on Wednesday night, Howard’s basketball-related musings remained in the Western Hemisphere, as he pitched a former teammate, Rajon Rondo, as a head coaching candidate for the Detroit Pistons.</p><p>The Detroit Pistons have been a mess for the last half-decade, failing to win more than 23 games in each of the last five seasons. The Pistons have shuffled through two head coaches in that span, and despite the fact that the 1st Round of the 2024 NBA Draft came and went on Wednesday night, Detroit remains the only team in the league without a head coach at this moment. Enter Rajon Rondo?</p><p>“Man give Rondo a Head coach job at Detroit I bet he turn everything around!” Dwight Howard <a href="https://x.com/DwightHoward/status/1806125541252026680" rel="noopener">tweeted on Wednesday night</a>.</p><p>With 957 career regular season games and an additional 134 games of postseason experience — which netted him three NBA Finals appearances and two championship rings — Rondo certainly has the on-court CV of someone who is qualified for the job. And if recommendations is what Rondo needs to be considered, then look no further than what LeBron James had to say about Rondo on a recent episode of the Mind The Game, when he was asked what former player he believed <a href="https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articles/rajon_rondo_reacts_after_lebron_james_said_he_should_be_a_head_coach_at_a_high_level/s1_16751_40156627" rel="noopener">should be coaching in the NBA</a>.</p><p>“Rajon Rondo. He could do things on the go. It’s very weird to me that he’s not coaching at a high level – I think it’s because he doesn’t want to do it.”</p><p>Rondo responded on Instagram, seemingly throwing his hat in the ring, <a href="https://x.com/CourtsideBuzzX/status/1771972694181056830?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1771972694181056830%7Ctwgr%5E768c88dbbf102d2994062fd2cb220b31f84fad22%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportskeeda.com%2Fbasketball%2Fnews-rajon-rondo-breaks-silence-lebron-james-projecting-coaching-role" rel="noopener">asking the question</a>, “Should I start college or pro level,” and since the Lakers hired JJ Redick to be their head coach, Rondo has been <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lakers-eyeing-rajon-rondo-potential-assistant-coach">rumored as a potential option</a> to join his staff in Los Angeles.</p><p>Rajon Rondo brings with him a prickly personality… one that has rubbed teammates and coaches the wrong way. But geniuses don’t always have the ideal set of people skills, and by all accounts, on the hardwood, Rajon Rondo <i>is </i>a genius.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Rajon-Rondo-in-a-Lakers-huddle-1024x693.jpg"><figcaption>© Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><h2><b>The Beautiful Basketball Mind of Rajon Rondo</b></h2><p>Whether it’s <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2016/1/26/10831956/evil-genius-rajon-rondo-used-every-tactic-in-the-book-to-stall-game" rel="noopener">finding ways to ice opponents</a> when they’re at the free throw line or instructing teammate DeMarcus Cousins to <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/2016/1/22/10814986/rajon-rondo-hawks-kings-defense-basketball-iq" rel="noopener">stand in an empty corner</a> while defending a late game out of bounds play — Rondo knew that’s where the play was intended to go — there are countless examples of Rondo’s on-court IQ levitating above most of his peers. Even off the court, Rondo’s <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/12587848/old-questions-surface-new-dallas-mavericks-point-guard-rajon-rondo" rel="noopener">dominance at poker, bourre</a> and yes, <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1544219-rajon-rondo-doesnt-mess-around-when-it-comes-to-connect-four" rel="noopener">Connect Four</a>, highlight his ability to think multiple moves ahead. But it’s the firsthand testimonials of the guys he played with, for, and against that give you the full picture of how smart Rajon Rondo is.</p><p>Former teammate Brian Scalabrine shared a story during an <a href="https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2018/06/01/2008-celtics-nba-championship-documentary/" rel="noopener">NBC Sports Boston documentary</a> on the 2008 Celtics about an instance when he was coaching against Rondo while on the staff of the Golden State Warriors, where Rondo knew that then-Warriors head coach Mark Jackson was bluffing on a play call.</p><p>“Rondo looked at Mark, and then he looked in the air and said, ’42 cross, 42 cross,’ and then he looked back at Mark and said, ‘You don’t have a 42 cross.’ I was like, ‘How the hell did he just know that?’ Somehow, some way, he knew that. And they’re not a rival. It wasn’t a playoff series. It was an insignificant game during the middle of the week. He was the smartest player I’ve ever played with and it’s not even close.”</p><p>Alvin Gentry, who coached Rondo for one season in New Orleans, is on record saying that Rondo was often “granted permission to conduct the occasional Pelicans film session or morning walk-through instead of his coaches.” (<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2773017-rajon-rondo-says-he-wants-to-be-nba-head-coach-gm-after-he-retires" rel="noopener">h/t</a> Timothy Rapp of Bleacher Report).</p><p>“When you have a point guard this smart, you should let him run the team,” Gentry said. “You can’t go in that locker room and talk to one guy that doesn’t believe in him. I’d coach him again and again and again.”</p><p>And then there’s the opinion of the late Kobe Bryant, whose thoughts on basketball matters carry more weight than maybe anyone else’s.</p><p>“He knows all the plays, knows all the actions and can think two, three moves ahead,” Bryant said back in 2015. “He’s freakishly smart.”</p><p>Freakishly smart. Relentlessly competitive. And he wants his shot. Soon enough, Rajon Rondo will get it. Maybe the Detroit Pistons would be wise to be the team to give it to him.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Dwight Howard endorses Rajon Rondo as Pistons head coach

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lakers-eyeing-rajon-rondo-potential-assistant-coach');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Lakers eyeing Rajon Rondo as potential assistant coach');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Lakers-eyeing-Rajon-Rondo-as-potential-assistant-coach.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Lakers eyeing Rajon Rondo as potential assistant coach</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-29T18:36:43-07:00">May 29th, 6:36pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-29T22:59:49-07:00">May 29th, 10:59pm</time><address><a href="https://nextmanupblog.medium.com/">Jay Postrado</a>Jay is a sports writer for ClutchPoints, with expertise in covering the NBA, NFL, MLB, Tennis, and Formula 1. He is a lifelong motorsports and tennis fan. Jay's need for speed may no longer be on the grid or courts but has stayed with him through writing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Lakers’ coaching hunt is not just for a new head honcho. While JJ Redick and James Borrego have been big names in contention to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-why-lakers-hiring-anyone-other-than-jj-redick-would-be-surprise">guide the Anthony Davis-led squad</a>, there are other individuals with super high basketball IQs gunning for the spot. One of them played for the rival Boston Celtics but eventually found his way to the Cleveland Cavaliers system and then joined LeBron James on the team from Hollywood afterward. He goes by the name of Rajon Rondo.</p><h2><b>Another bright mind for the Lakers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Boston-Celtics-player-Rajon-Rondo.jpg"><figcaption>© David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Rajon Rondo is in <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1795969316153655335">serious consideration</a> to be a Lakers assistant coach, per Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. This former LeBron James teammate is largely known for his passing acumen and playmaking chops. It was evident when he became the facilitator for a Celtics team hunting their 17th banner all the way to a Lakers squad who was doing the same.</p><p>Rajon Rondo already knows the structure of the Lakers system. He has dealt with the guys in the front office and ownership before. So, bridging the gap between their visions and bringing them to life by utilizing Anthony Davis along with the rest of the squad through schemes might be easier for him. Not to mention, he already knew how to navigate passing lanes, read plays, and come up with something on the fly whenever they incurred a broken play during his playing days.</p><p>All of this adds up to what could be a good coaching career. However, the main drawback that the Lakers have to endure is that he has no experience in this field quite yet. If the Lakers do proceed to land JJ Redick, they will have two of the brightest minds in all of basketball. But, these two are going to do all of this for the very first time. Rondo has been very vocal about schemes and exhibits his acumen for high-level basketball well whenever he makes a podcast appearance. So, he could be worth the gamble.</p><h2><b>How good was Rajon Rondo?</b></h2><p>He was a generational floor general who could read all types of coverages. Rondo was not just a point guard who shouted directions before crossing the top of the key. Throughout his time from the Celtics to the Lakers, he danced against tough defenses to direct traffic and get multiple guys open. This got him four seasons where he averaged more than 11 assists per game. More impressively, Rondo has never recorded less than four dimes on a nightly basis outside of his rookie year.</p><p>The two-time champion and four-time all-star is not just great at picking apart defenses. He is also good at playing guys who are way taller than him and outside shooters who are shifty with their movements. All of this makes for a perfect fit with the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/james-borregos-appearance-la-sparks-coaching-buzz">roster that the Lakers</a> already have. This squad played with a lot of pace and did well on defense. It was all before they got shut down by the Denver Nuggets.</p><p>Now, JJ Redick or the next head coach can work with him to upgrade their halfcourt sets and make the Lakers better when their plays get shattered mid-shot clock.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Lakers eyeing Rajon Rondo as potential assistant coach

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mavericks-news-rajon-rondo-claims-mavericks-made-up-back-injury-because-of-rick-carlisle');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rajon Rondo claims Mavericks made up back injury for him because of Rick Carlisle');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Rajon-Rondo-claims-Dallas-made-up-back-injury-for-him-because-of-Rick-Carlisle.jpg"></figure><h1>Rajon Rondo claims Mavericks made up back injury for him because of Rick Carlisle</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-05-28T15:11:47-07:00">May 28th, 3:11pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-05-28T15:22:23-07:00">May 28th, 3:22pm</time><address><a>Nick Meyer</a>Nick Meyer is a sports writer for ClutchPoints based in the Metro Detroit area. He has covered everything from Major League Baseball to the NFL, UFC, and College Football.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Dallas Mavericks entered Tuesday one game away from an NBA Finals matchup with Rajon Rondo’s former team the Boston Celtics. After his latest comments on Rick Carlisle and his Mavericks playing days, it’s safe to say he most likely will not be rooting for the Dallas franchise if they do make it to the NBA’s last series of the calendar year.</p><p>The Rondo story came <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavericks-news-pj-washington-message-nba-finals-game-4">amid a fiery proclamation</a> by Mavericks guard PJ Washington ahead of the potential series clincher vs. the Timberwolves. An update on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/is-mavericks-dereck-lively-ii-playing-vs-timberwolves-latest-game-4-injury-update">Derrick Lively II’s status</a> vs. the Wolves was also revealed.</p><p>Rondo’s claim was revealed in a video interview and it casts serious doubt on the Mavericks’ way of doing things.</p><h2><b>Rondo’s claims revealed in viral video </b></h2><p>The former Celtics and Mavericks guard’s thoughts were shared in an unfiltered fashion via the Sportsbook FanDuel.</p><p>Rondo said that people thought he “quit on the team” in a game vs. the Rockets during his days with the Mavericks. “What happened in Dallas at the end of my season that year, I had a call with Donnie Nelson, Rick Carlisle, and they were like, Rick doesn’t want to coach you anymore, so we’re going to say your back is hurt and you’re done playing.”</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Rick-Carlisle-coaching-.jpg"><figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Rondo suffers boos whenever he heads back to ‘Big D,’ but he wants fans to know the truth of what he says really went down that led to the end of his time with the Mavs.</p><p>Rondo played for the Mavs from <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/3026/rajon-rondo">2014 to 2015</a>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“What happened in Dallas was, they’re like, ‘[Rick Carlisle] doesn’t want to coach you anymore, so we’re going to say your back is hurting and you’re done playing.'”</p><p>Rajon Rondo with a never-before-told story about Rick Carlisle 😳</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/RunItBackFDTV?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RunItBackFDTV</a>)<a href="https://t.co/Je828Y25KE">pic.twitter.com/Je828Y25KE</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1795545608217870800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Fans react strongly to ex-Maverick Rondo’s statement</b></h2><p>Fans were intrigued by Rondo’s statement on X. He last played for the then-Mark Cuban owned Mavs nearly ten years ago and has since become a well known thought leader in the world of NBA podcasts. Rick Carlisle is the coach of the now-playoff departed Indiana Pacers. Both Rick Carlisle and Rajon Rondo got positive and negative responses in the comments section of the video on X.</p><p>The Luka Doncic led Mavericks are scheduled to play the Minnesota Timberwolves with a trip to the Finals on the line on Tuesday night at 8;30 p.m. ET.</p><p>“I believe Rondo, Rick was the same guy who started stuff with Dennis Smith Jr. and Luka,” one fan said. “He was mad because we didn’t draft Donovan Mitchell then took it out on DSJ,” they added.</p><p>“And then Carlisle had the same problem with Luka,” another reader said. “Seems like there’s a pattern and a common denominator.”</p><p>There were also comments taking Carlisle’s side.</p><p>“Rondo has ruined himself,” they said. “Carlisle makes every team he’s on better.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rajon Rondo claims Mavericks made up back injury for him because of Rick Carlisle

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-news-lebron-james-reveals-true-feelings-on-rajon-rondo-retirement');   ga('set', 'title', 'LeBron James reveals true feelings on former Lakers guard Rajon Rondo’s retirement');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/LeBron-James-reveals-true-feelings-on-former-Lakers-guard-Rajon-Rondos-retirement.jpg"></figure><h1>LeBron James reveals true feelings on former Lakers guard Rajon Rondo’s retirement</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-04-02T20:30:48-07:00">April 2nd, 8:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-04-02T20:30:48-07:00">April 2nd, 8:30pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Tuesday, Rajon Rondo <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-rajon-rondo-officially-announces-retirement">officially announced his retirement</a> from the NBA, marking an end to what was a successful career for the genius floor general. Rondo has long been revered in NBA circles for his knowledge of the game, and one of his smartest teammates ever, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, gave him his flowers following the Purple and Gold’s 128-111 win over the Toronto Raptors.</p><p>Speaking to reporters, James praised Rondo for being <a href="https://twitter.com/mcten/status/1775340732972179620" rel="noopener">one of his greatest teammates ever</a> (no mean feat) while shedding light on the promise the retired floor general have as to what would happen when the two teamed up, which materialized for the Lakers in 2020.</p><p>“One of the best players I ever played with. Obviously, his IQ is out of this world. I was very lucky to get to team up with him at that point when I was in LA. Being in LA, and him coming to the Lakers, I was ecstatic about it. Do always talked about if he ever teamed up with me, he knew we could win a championship. And we did that,” James said, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">LeBron James on Rajon Rondo officially announcing his retirement: “One of the best players I ever played with. … ‘Do always talked about if he ever teamed up with me, he knew we could win a championship. And we did that” <a href="https://t.co/GtLofpAUtg">pic.twitter.com/GtLofpAUtg</a></p><p>— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) <a href="https://twitter.com/mcten/status/1775340732972179620?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Lakers’ signing of Rajon Rondo in 2018 raised eyebrows; at that point, the tried and tested formula for how to optimize LeBron James’ talent is to put shooters around him. Shooting isn’t exactly Rondo’s strong suit, so putting him alongside James was a curious fit.</p><p>But during the 2020 NBA bubble, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-dwight-howard-awesome-retirement-message-for-rajon-rondo">Rondo stepped up big time</a> for the Lakers. His control and reading of the game was near-unparalleled, and to top it all off, he was even making open threes during that playoff run. Simply put, he was a crucial piece for LeBron James and company when they won the NBA championship under the difficult circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.</p><h2><b>Rajon Rondo and LeBron James — fierce rivals turned allies</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Celtics_point_guard_Rajon_Rondo_9_fouls_Miami_Heat_small_forward_LeBron_James.jpg"></figure><p>Rajon Rondo and LeBron James faced off in the playoffs a total of four times, twice when James was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and twice as a member of the Miami Heat. In 2008 and 2010, it was Rondo’s Boston Celtics that knocked James out from championship contention. This certainly contributed to James’ decision to take his talents to South Beach in the summer of 2010.</p><p>With the Heat, James then vanquished his Celtics demons. In 2011, they handily took care of business against Rondo and company. But in 2012, Rondo played the best basketball of his career, going toe-to-toe with the famous Heat big three and nearly knocking them out in the Eastern Conference Finals.</p><p>Rajon Rondo then treaded water from 2012 to 2018 (suffering a torn ACL, going through a tumultuous stint in Dallas, journeying from Chicago to New Orleans) before<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-on-why-rajon-rondo-steps-up-big-in-the-playoffs"> latching on with LeBron James</a> and the Lakers, winning one more championship 12 years after reaching the pinnacle of team success in his sophomore campaign.</p><h2><b>Rondo’s legacy — a genius, if temperamental, floor general</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lakers_guard_Rajon_Rondo_9_sits_on_the_court_with_his_son_after_game_six_of_the_2020_NBA_Finals.jpg"></figure><p>Rajon Rondo butted heads with a few players and coaches during his 16-year NBA career. He most notably beefed with Doc Rivers and Ray Allen during his Celtics days and then <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavs-news-mark-cuban-hilariously-roasts-rajon-rondo-clippers-ahead-of-heated-first-round-matchup">he infamously quit</a> on the Dallas Mavericks during the 2015 NBA playoffs after not seeing eye-to-eye with Rick Carlisle.</p><p>But he and LeBron James got along quite well on the court with the Lakers, with the two appreciating each other’s understanding of the game. This relationship is built out of mutual respect, with James wishing nothing but the best for his former adversary turned friend.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

LeBron James reveals true feelings on former Lakers guard Rajon Rondo’s retirement

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-news-dwight-howard-awesome-retirement-message-for-rajon-rondo');   ga('set', 'title', 'Dwight Howard sends awesome retirement message for former Lakers guard Rajon Rondo');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/lakers-news-dwight-howard-sends-awesome-retirement-message-for-rajon-rondo.jpg"></figure><h1>Dwight Howard sends awesome retirement message for former Lakers guard Rajon Rondo</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-04-02T16:59:03-07:00">April 2nd, 4:59pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-04-02T16:59:03-07:00">April 2nd, 4:59pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Recently, former Boston Celtics (and Los Angeles Lakers) point guard Rajon Rondo announced his retirement from the NBA, per ESPN. Over the course of his NBA career, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-rajon-rondo-officially-announces-retirement">Rondo established himself</a> as one of the best passers the game of basketball has ever seen and also won multiple NBA championships, first with the Celtics back in 2008 and then <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-anthony-davis-sends-fiery-message-to-haters-of-2020-bubble-championship">with the Lakers</a> as part of the NBA Bubble during the 2019-2020 season.</p><p>Rondo announced the news during an appearance on the “All The Smoke” podcast.</p><p>“What a time, it was definitely something that I never took for granted when I was in the game,” said Rondo. “I loved every minute of it, and I appreciate the brotherhood that I was able to share and bond and grow with over the years. I’ve learned so much in this game and it’s made me the man who I am today. … I tell people all the time, this wasn’t a dream of mine, it was a goal. I was able to lock in, stay disciplined, I didn’t party a lot in college. But it was worth the sacrifice of me getting to where I wanted to be in life.”</p><p>One person <a href="https://twitter.com/DwightHoward/status/1775274682507460654" rel="noopener">who is happy</a> for Rondo is none other than his former Lakers teammate, Dwight Howard, who took to his account on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter, to express his thoughts.</p><p>“16 years is not easy to do! Championships are hard to win… congrats on an amazing career my brother!” wrote Howard, along with a picture as well as some highlight clips of the two together during their Lakers’ tenure.</p><h2>An unlikely duo in Los Angeles</h2><p>Although that 2020 Lakers squad was of course headlined by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, fans won’t soon forget the contributions of several valuable pieces off the bench, which included both Rondo and Howard for the team’s dominant playoff run in the Bubble.</p><p>For his part, Howard provided a degree of defense and intensity for a Los Angeles squad that was already brimming with those attributes before his arrival. The big man was a large part of the Lakers’ defensive strategy against Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, who suffered through one of the worst playoff series of his career against Los Angeles thanks in no small part to Howard’s contribution.</p><p>Meanwhile, Rondo used his otherworldly basketball to consistently dissect opposing defenses, acting as a coach on the floor, in some ways filling in the floor general role that LeBron James usually embodied when the king took his talents to the bench for a breather.</p><p>Rondo and Howard also produced several highlights during their time together in Los Angeles, as Howard consistently found himself on the receiving end of perfectly-placed lobs from Rondo. Although both were well past their athletic primes by the time they teamed up with the Lakers, it was truly inspiring to see the duo able to reinvent themselves and still find ways to contribute to winning basketball on the game’s biggest stage at Disney.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Dwight Howard sends awesome retirement message for former Lakers guard Rajon Rondo

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-news-rajon-rondo-officially-announces-retirement');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rajon Rondo officially announces NBA retirement');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/nba-news-rajon-rondo-announcements-retirement.jpg"><figcaption>4/2/24</figcaption></figure><h1>Rajon Rondo officially announces NBA retirement</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-04-02T06:54:16-07:00">April 2nd, 6:54am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-04-02T07:28:04-07:00">April 2nd, 7:28am</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a>Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, and he claims to have JR Smith's conscience with his shot selection. He has won a basketball, a baseball, and a football championship in fantasy all within a year.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>One of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-paul-pierce-rajon-rondo-show-support-for-boston-in-game-7-vs-heat">best point guards to ever play</a> in the NBA has officially announced his retirement from the NBA. Former Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers court general Rajon Rondo revealed during a recent appearance on the All The Smoke podcast that he’s “done” with the NBA.</p><p>“Absolutely [done with the NBA].  I got to spend time, I’d rather spend time with my kids, Rondo said.</p><p>“I loved every minute of it and I appreciated the brotherhood that I was able to share and bond and grow with over the years. I learned so much in this game and it’s made me the man who I am today,” Rondo added.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Rajon Rondo officially announces his retirement from the NBA.</p><p>🔸16 seasons<br>🔸2x NBA champion<br>🔸4x NBA All-Star<br>🔸4x All-defensive<br>🔸1 of 2 players to win a title with the Celtics and Lakers</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/allthesmokeprod?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@allthesmokeprod</a>)<a href="https://t.co/TEGpgBb6oi">pic.twitter.com/TEGpgBb6oi</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1775149967029551261?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Prime years with the Celtics</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rajon-Rondo-in-action-with-the-Celtics.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Rajon Rondo’s best years in the NBA were undeniably spent with that team that selected him 21st overall in the <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/rondora01.html">first round of the 2006 NBA Draft</a> — the Celtics.</p><p>Rondo spent his first eight and a half seasons in the NBA wearing Boston threads and during his time with the Celtics, he averaged 11.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 8.5 assists across 527 games. With Boston, Rondo earned four NBA All-Star nods as the court general of the star-laden Celtics teams that also featured the trio of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce.</p><p>In 2008, Rondo played a pivotal role in the Celtics winning the franchise’s first NBA title since 1986.</p><h2><b>As an NBA journeyman and second NBA title with the Lakers</b></h2><p>After his stint with the Celtics in 2014 when he was traded by Boston to the Dallas Mavericks, Rondo went to play for several teams in the NBA. Apart from the Mavs, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kentucky-basketball-news-rajon-rondo-drops-harsh-john-calipari-criticism-over-oakland-loss">former Kentucky Wildcats star</a> suited up for the Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks, the Lakers, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.</p><p>Although he never achieved the level of individual success again that he had with the Celtics, Rajon Rondo would find himself kissing the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the second time in his memorable NBA career in 2020 when he won it with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.</p><h2><b>Rajon Rondo’s final NBA season</b></h2><p>Before announcing his retirement, Rondo was last seen playing in the NBA during the 2021-22 NBA season with the Cavaliers. He played 21 games for the Cavs and averaged 6.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists in 19.5 minutes per outing. Rondo actually started that season with the Los Angeles Lakers before the Purple &amp; Gold franchise traded him to Cleveland as part of a three-team trade involving the New York Knicks.</p><p>He went unsigned in the 2022-23 NBA campaign, leading many to believe that he had already played his final game in the pros. However, because he had not really announced his retirement at the time, the door was always open for a potential return to the court by the two-time NBA champion.</p><h2><b>Fans react to Rondo’s retirement</b></h2><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Prime Rajon Rondo was a different breed <a href="https://t.co/a2X9wWiq3C">pic.twitter.com/a2X9wWiq3C</a></p><p>— Hoops (@HoopMixOnly) <a href="https://twitter.com/HoopMixOnly/status/1775141435211223097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“One of the last of the traditional pass-first PGs,” said @Najeero. Indeed, Rondo excelled and enjoyed more being a distributor of the ball on the court than creating shots of his own.</p><p>“Congratulations on an amazing, successful career! Excited to see what’s next for Rondo,” posted@WittyCollector.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">4x All Star and 2x NBA champion Rajon Rondo announces his retirement 🙏 <a href="https://t.co/PNdrbpH6hj">pic.twitter.com/PNdrbpH6hj</a></p><p>— SAY CHEESE! 👄🧀 (@SaycheeseDGTL) <a href="https://twitter.com/SaycheeseDGTL/status/1775158088372203767?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Will definitely gonna miss him seeing on the court,” shared @viniciusfdea.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Rajon Rondo has officially retired 😪</p><p>Some of the most electric point guard highlights you’ll ever see. 🔥🔥🔥 <a href="https://t.co/JgwiGuXOuw">pic.twitter.com/JgwiGuXOuw</a></p><p>— Whistle (@WhistleSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhistleSports/status/1775140804496912625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>From @ISLANDBETS: “Happy retirement to my favorite Celtics player ever, Rajon Rondo ☘️💚 The guy who made me fall in love with the game and with the Celtics. what a joy it was to watch you, GOAT. 🏆”</p><p>Via Josh Eberley: “I was never a Rajon Rondo fan but that guy evolved in the 2012 playoffs. He really looked like he might hit best PG in the league contention before the ACL tear. Everyone knows he was smart as hell but his behind the back fake to layup combo was also just a killer highlight.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rajon Rondo officially announces NBA retirement

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/kentucky-basketball-news-rajon-rondo-drops-harsh-john-calipari-criticism-over-oakland-loss');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rajon Rondo drops harsh John Calipari, Kentucky basketball criticism over Oakland loss');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/kentucky-basketball-news-rajon-rondo-drops-harsh-john-calipari-criticism-over-oakland-loss.jpeg"></figure><h1>Rajon Rondo drops harsh John Calipari, Kentucky basketball criticism over Oakland loss</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-03-26T10:25:36-07:00">March 26th, 10:25am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-03-26T10:25:36-07:00">March 26th, 10:25am</time><address><a>Zachary Weinberger</a>Zachary Weinberger joined ClutchPoints in October 2023 as a Miami Heat reporter as well as an Associate Editor. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2022 after covering the school's athletic programs since his freshman year at the FAU University Press, where he was a Sports Editor and Editor-in-Chief. He then covered FAU Sports for The Palm Beach Post.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NCAA Basketball</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-news-trae-young-gets-massive-unstoppable-endorsement-from-rajon-rondo">Former NBA player Rajon Rondo was</a> on the show “All the Smoke” with Rachel Nichols and DeMarcus Cousins and gave his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kentucky-basketball-news-john-calipari-sheds-light-transfer-portal-plan-ncaa-tournament-upset">thoughts on the Kentucky basketball team</a> and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kentucky-basketball-news-john-calipari-savagely-compared-to-doc-rivers-after-oakland-debacle">head coach John Calipari</a>. As the Wildcats dropped their first round game in the NCAA tournament as the No. 3 seed to the No. 14 seed in Oakland University, Rondo had the viewpoint that while he’s not going to say that Calipari should be fired, the program <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdQbdfTIRFk&amp;t=358s" rel="noopener">had a lot of expectations</a> coming in to March Madness.</p><p>“I’m not going to sit up here and say anyone should be fired, obviously what he’s done for the program over the last decade speaks for itself,” Rondo said. “With obviously the last couple years hasn’t been so great, and as a Kentucky fan, as a Kentucky alumni, you know they expect greatness night in night out each year. High expectation especially when you have the number one recruiting class coming in. People expect nothing but a championship, and the mindset is pretty much championship of bust.”</p><h2><b>Rondo calls Wildcats performance against Oakland “unacceptable”</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/John_Calipari_coaching_in_Kentuckys_loss_to_Oakland_in_the_NCAA_tournament.jpeg"><figcaption>Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>After the loss to Oakland, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/how-reed-sheppards-march-madness-dud-impacts-nba-draft-stock">Calipari and the Kentucky basketball team has</a> just one win in the last five national tournament appearances for the program. Rondo would continue on with his thoughts on the Wildcats and Calipari by saying that the performance in their last appearance is “unacceptable.”</p><p>“With the loss of Oakland, allowing a guy like Jack [Gohlke] to shoot, to even shoot 23-point attempts in the game. Knowing coming into the game plan he’s only taken I think four to eight mid-rangers all season,” Rondo said. “And for him to come out and make 10 threes, seven in the first half, to me that is on the coach, coaching staff, that is on the player personnel as well understanding the game plan, the Scout report, that guy shouldn’t have had any effect on the game, let alone 32 points with zero assist unacceptable for the University of Kentucky.”</p><h2><b>DeMarcus Cousins comes to the defense of Calipari</b></h2><p>While Rondo never went to the University of Kentucky <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/best-kentucky-head-coach-candidate-if-john-calipari-gets-fired">or been coached by Calipari</a>, the co-host of the show DeMarcus Cousins has and did not hesitate to come to the defense of his former head coach. He said that Calipari has “evolved with each generation of basketball” and that every program goes through a “dry spell.”</p><p>“This is a guy that’s evolved with each generation of basketball. We’re talking about a guy that’s found success when he was at UMass. So this isn’t a guy that can’t, you know, find his way through the evolution of the game,” Cousins said. “So that’s more so why I’m so confused as to how we got to this point because no matter what university no matter what legendary coach they all went through a dry spell of losing tournaments, not really meeting the standard for that year. It happens with every program.”</p><p>Whatever side of the argument anyone is on, there is no doubt that the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/why-kentucky-must-not-fire-john-calipari-after-march-madness-disaster-vs-oakland">Kentucky basketball team experienced</a> more disappointment this year as the program has had championship aspirations since Calipari captured one in 2012. The Wildcats finished 23-10 last season and 13-5 in conference play as they look to bounce back next season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rajon Rondo drops harsh John Calipari, Kentucky basketball criticism over Oakland loss

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/hawks-news-trae-young-gets-massive-unstoppable-endorsement-from-rajon-rondo');   ga('set', 'title', 'Hawks’ Trae Young gets massive ‘unstoppable’ endorsement from Rajon Rondo');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Trae_Young_gets_massive__unstoppable__endorsement_from_Rajon_Rondo.webp"></figure><h1>Hawks’ Trae Young gets massive ‘unstoppable’ endorsement from Rajon Rondo</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-02-13T10:47:21-08:00">February 13th, 10:47am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-02-13T10:47:21-08:00">February 13th, 10:47am</time><address><a>Zachary Weinberger</a>Zachary Weinberger joined ClutchPoints in October 2023 as a Miami Heat reporter as well as an Associate Editor. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2022 after covering the school's athletic programs since his freshman year at the FAU University Press, where he was a Sports Editor and Editor-in-Chief. He then covered FAU Sports for The Palm Beach Post.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-rajon-rondo-arrested-over-unlawful-possession-of-firearm-marijuana" rel="noopener">Former player Rajon Rondo</a>, who has been a very productive point guard throughout his career, was on the show “Bully Ball” with Rachel Nichols and DeMarcus Cousins and talked about <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-trae-young-trade-offer-lakers-spurs-offseason" rel="noopener">Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young</a>. He would compliment the point guard for being an “unstoppable” player who had the entire franchise put on his back as soon as he was out of college.</p><p>“He hasn’t had many vets to come in and teach him how to be that type of player and also have a franchise on your back,” Rondo said to Nichols and Cousins. “I can’t speak from that perspective but being able to come in at 22 years old and have a whole franchise on your back, and still want him to do so many other things, and produce on the court. You’re asking a lot from a young person who is now just coming into something new. So he’s definitely underrated, one of my favorite players I’ve ever played with he’s unstoppable.”</p><h2><b>Rondo still says that Young is </b>learning</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/hawks-news-trae-youngs-true-feelings-on-all-star-snub-after-domination-vs-suns.webp"></figure><p>Rondo should know a bit more than most <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hawks-news-trae-young-closing-in-on-wild-james-harden-nba-record-after-monster-game-76ers" rel="noopener">people about Young since</a> he was a part of the Hawks for only the first 27 games during the 2021-2022 season. As he said before, he is one of his favorite teammates despite that short amount of time and compliments the way he plays basketball as Young is “pretty much the only playmaker” on Atlanta’s squad.</p><p>“The game is different he has the ball in his hands a lot , he is pretty much the only playmaker and you’re going to have numbers, but to still to do it at a consistent level on an night in night out basis,” Rondo said. “And take and make the biggest shots in the game usually in the 4th quarter and that’s what he does every night and he’s learning how to become a better teammate you know, I played with him, they try to knock him for that but he’s young , he’s learning.”</p><h2>What Rondo said about Young back when they were teammates</h2><p>When Rondo was 0n the Hawks, it was Young’s third season in the NBA where one of his tasks was to be the veteran leadership to help improve the star into an all-around player. Even back in 2020, Rondo called Young at the time a <a href="https://theathletic.com/2237551/2020/12/03/rajon-rondo-trae-young-hawks/" rel="noopener">“really gifted young man”</a> and was seen to be excited to get to work with him according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.</p><p>“I see a really gifted young man,” Rondo said. “He can do it all. I’ve had a couple of conversations with him, and I can’t wait to get in the film room with him and study his mind and have him understand the best ways to attack defensive breakdowns or how defenses are trying to control and contain him. I’m looking forward to learning from him, what he knows and how he sees the game and also me giving him input on how we can destroy defenses and make his game to another level.”</p><p>So far this season, Young is averaging 27 points, 10.9 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting 42.8 percent from the field. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-rival-front-offices-think-hawks-will-make-trae-young-available-for-trade" rel="noopener">The Hawks are 24-30</a> which puts them 10th in the Eastern Conference as their next game is Wednesday night against the Charlotte Hornets.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2021-22 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
3.1	2.7	3.7	0.3	0.7

2021-22 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
3.1	2.7	3.7	0.3	0.7

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