Rajon Rondo Out Indefinitely With Back Injury; Likely Done With Mavericks Altogether
USA Today
Earlier in the 2014-15 NBA season, the Dallas Mavericks made a blockbuster trade that initially appeared to be the missing piece to the championship puzzle for Mark Cuban and company. Rajon Rondo was acquired by Dallas before the NBA trade deadline giving the Mavericks a major upgrade at the point guard position.
About two months later, the Rondo trade could go down as one of the worst moves in franchise history. Rondo simply never fit in with the Mavericks and also never saw eye-to-eye with head coach Rick Carlisle.
The relationship between Rondo and his head coach hit a boiling point in Game 2 of the team’s playoff series with the Houston Rockets. The veteran point guard committed four fouls in the 10 minutes he played against the Rockets and sat out for the rest of the game following an eight-second violation on the recently acquired one-time NBA champion.
On Wednesday, the Mavericks announced that Rondo suffered a back injury in the loss to Houston and will be out indefinitely, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein:
ESPN sources says Mavs are ruling out Rajon Rondo indefinitely after back injury he sustained in Game 2
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) April 22, 2015
Making matters worse following the announcement that Rondo is out indefinitely, Coach Carlisle was asked about whether he believes the veteran point guard has played his last game for Dallas. Carlisle said the following, via ESPN’s Tim MacMahon:
Do you expect Rajon Rondo to ever wear a Mavericks uniform again? "No, I don't," Rick Carlisle said.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 22, 2015
Needless to say, the Rondo era in Dallas will be short-lived. Dallas appears content with using J.J. Barea, Devin Harris and Raymond Felton at the point guard position moving forward and cutting their losses in the gamble to acquire a player once considered elite at the position.
With Rondo set to hit the free agent market this summer, the attention turns to the Los Angeles Lakers. There’s been a lot of speculation as of late about Rondo intent on signing with the Lakers and the recent dustup in Dallas may have essentially sealed the deal.
