I Guess George Karl Stopped Watching Rajon Rondo Years Ago Because He Compared Him To A Bunch Of Hall Of Famers

YardBarker- Rondo didn’t get along too well with Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle last season, but Karl was able to make a connection with the 29-year-old and lure him to Sacramento this off-season.

“I just sold him on how I like to let my guys have freedom,” Karl told The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn. “I talked to him once before he signed and it’s going to be fun coaching him. I think he wants to lead our team but he also wants to be part of the decision-making, and that can be somewhat combustible but it can also work at a high level because I think we’re all trying to make the team the best.”

“I had Gary Payton (in Seattle), Sam Cassell (in Milwaukee), Allen Iverson (in Denver), Chauncey Billups (in Denver),” he said. “Chauncey is challenging. Andre Miller is probably not as challenging, but he’ll be stubborn and wanting me to do it his way. I think all really good point guards have a trust and belief in themselves that sometimes causes conflict with the coaches.”



Gary Payton, Sam Cassell, Allen Iverson, and Chauncey Billups. I love you George, but it might be time to take a little step back. See all those guys you named right there? There wasn't a time in their lives when they were HEALTHY SCRATCHES during the NBA playoffs. There was never a point when a head coach said to them "you may be the most talented point guard we have, but we aren't going to let you play for us when our season is on the line". If those players are Rajon Rondo's company then he is the one wearing a bowtie and serving them hor d'oeuvres. 

It's goddamn hysterical that George Karl has convinced himself that he "sold" Rajon Rondo on the prospect of playing in Sacramento. Hey George, Sacramento may be the least attractive destination in the NBA right now. Hell, the one good thing they have going for them, Demarcus Cousins, can't even stand the guy that is currently singing the praises of a washed up point guard. Rondo didn't decide he was going to play there, the rest of the league decided he was going to play there when NO ONE else wanted him. George Karl getting ecstatic about signing a player with a fatal flaw and a bad attitude is like your friend that brags about taking home the bitchy girl that's not even hot enough for her "no blowjob" policy. 

See those players you named. At one point or another they were very capable of running their own offense. They were stubborn and challenging because their talent allowed them to play that way. They were allowed to play without a leash because they didn't run off and poop on the carpet every time they were granted a little bit of freedom. Some of them were better scorers and some of them were better passers, but none of them lacked the fundamental ability to make a jump shot. Karl keeps babbling about trust and belief and Rondo doesn't even trust himself to score the basketball if he is more than two inches away from the hoop. Maybe we should just relax and let Rondo prove that he still has the ability to lose a couple of basketball games without whole heartedly quitting on his teammates before we start mentioning him in the same breath as Hall Of Famers. The only thing those players have in common is that they once played point guard in the NBA, and if you take out Rondo, that they will give their all for the betterment of the team.