Rondo Interview

I’m honestly not worried about Rondo coming back on a team friendly deal if they retain Cousins.

htran threw out some possible interested teams and Indy is the one I'd be most worried about. They have a similar player to Jrue in Oladipo, some pretty capable bigs, a team option on Collison to free up cap space and the starting PG slot, and they're in the East which makes it easier to get to the Finals. The Pels are probably still a better situation, but Indy wouldn't be a huge downgrade. I do wonder how something like 2/$20 from them compares to the 2/$8 the Pels are likely to offer Rondo. I still think Rondo stays, but they're the ones to look out for. Hopefully their success this year makes them want to bring everyone back.

It must be Rondo day. Another article comparing Rondo Then (Boston days) and Now. The most interesting part is this bit about his leadership and culture building with the Pels.

quote:

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What makes him so valuable to the Pelicans stretches beyond all that he does on court, though. Through a group text among players that was created before the season began, Rondo tries to get everyone together as often as possible, whether New Orleans is on the road or not.

“It usually works out, building chemistry and camaraderie on the team,” Rondo says. “We all don’t have to get along off the court, but for the most part you make a small sacrifice when you come on the road and you do group activities.”

On their first night in San Francisco before this series began, Rondo arranged for dinner at Crustacean, an upscale restaurant located in the city’s historic Nob Hill neighborhood. Before that was a yoga session, which has become one of his favorite ways to get new faces on the team to bond.

“My suspicion is he’s at the peak point of his career in terms of leadership,” Adams says. “I think he’s happy to be on a really good team, and I think he’s probably grateful for the people he gets to direct...My perception might be wrong on that, but that’s what I see on the team at the moment. I think he’s probably a better leader and probably less volatile than at one point in his career when he was younger.”

Throughout the season, Rondo has gone out of his way to invite teammates over to his house, just to relax, eat dinner, play ping-pong, whatever. And the competitive edge he carries with him in just about every area of life—during pre-practice warm-up sessions, Rondo likes to tease younger players whenever he gets lower than them during a stretch—has been contagious.

At 1 AM on the night New Orleans lost Game 1, Pelicans guard Ian Clark’s phone started to buzz. It was Rondo. Where you at? Let’s watch film. “I watch more film independently this year than I have over the course of my whole career,” Clark says. “He’s always texting me. ‘Hey young’n did you watch film? Did you watch your minutes?’ It never stops with him.”

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