Dallas Mavericks: Addition Of Rajon Rondo Elevates Status In Western Conference
When the news broke late Wednesday night that the Dallas Mavericks were in “substantive discussions” about bringing Rajon Rondo on board, there was skepticism.
Any time it involves a big-time player, whether trade or free agency, it’s no secret the Mavericks aren’t that far behind in the rumor mill. Most of the time, that logic doesn’t favor Dallas, no matter how persistent.
That’s why this trade, which needed to happen, wasn’t so certain at first, especially with teams like the Houston Rockets or Los Angeles Lakers possibly putting better offers together to package to Boston.
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But they didn’t. And the trade did indeed happen.
Rajon Rondo is the newest member of the Dallas Mavericks and with this five-player, two-pick trade that sends the four-time All-Star to Dallas, the Mavericks’ status in the Western Conference has now been elevated.
Amazing how one week ago, the Mavericks were deemed as the team that was talented but had too many flaws to contend well into April or even May. They could put up 110 points a night if they wanted to, but the Mavs were not ready to take the next leap into contender status. Not in the Western Conference. Not in the conference that has point guards like Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Damian Lillard among others.
Dallas has one of those point guards now.
The Mavericks have a point guard that can go toe-to-toe with any of them in the West. The Mavericks have a guy that could possibly leap them to that top-four status that they’ve been playing like.
By adding Rondo to the squad, Dallas has now become a favorite in the Western Conference.
They’re not the lone favorite, though. This trade didn’t come without any risks, but risks are what Mark Cuban is all about. If he didn’t take risks, Dallas might not have been in the position it has been in over the years. As Cuban nears his 15th anniversary of owning the Mavericks, he has always looked to make a splash.
If you need any more proof of that, then look no further than the names Chandler Parsons and Tyson Chandler.
Let’s get this out of the way, though: This is not the Rondo when the Celtics were contending for NBA championships. This is a Rondo that is fresh off a torn ACL injury and was on a team that was not going anywhere now or even five years from now. Boston, for as badly as Danny Ainge wanted to keep Rondo on the roster to make things work, needed to make this trade.
Dallas also needed to make this trade, even if it meant losing a guy like Brandan Wright or a promising player like Jae Crowder.
If it meant losing Jameer Nelson, that’s a different story. That needed to happen ASAP.
Any trade Dallas wanted to do, everyone needed to know that Wright was going to be one of the pieces to that deal. He’ll be the one that’s missed the most from a Mavericks perspective. It goes beyond the high-flying dunks and the shot blocking. This is a guy who was a bust since he came out of North Carolina. He didn’t have a low-post game nor did he have the smarts to be a two-way player in the NBA.
He came to Dallas a project, he leaves a man who will get a hefty pay day next summer, and deserves every penny he gets.
But while the Wright loss may sting most, the want to win a championship isn’t defined by the number of dunks or how many lobs are thrown down. The Mavericks lead the league in dunks, but so have the Los Angeles Clippers the last number of years.
It’s about what you can put on the floor in a Game 7 of a playoff series with everything on the line. It’s about what starting five can you put on the floor and ensure that you win that game you need to win.
The Mavericks have that starting five now.
Go ahead and use all the stats necessary to say this is a bad move, all the advanced metrics that not many people care for. Throw in the part that Rondo is shooting 40 percent from the floor.
Here are the stats that should be looked at: Those 7.5 rebounds and 10.8 assists per game. The old Rajon Rondo that many believe to be no longer alive can be resuscitated on a contending team like the Mavericks. Rondo needs a purpose to play like he did in those Boston playoff runs, and now he has that purpose. The Mavericks also have that purpose to feel they can beat any team in the Western Conference.
Sure, Dallas will need to fill some holes. They’ll need more bench production from the likes of Devin Harris, J.J. Barea, Al-Farouq Aminu and Richard Jefferson. But for all the crap talked about Rick Carlisle for how he manages players, he’s a genius at the end of the day. He’ll find a way to make this work, just like he did in 2011.
And isn’t it fitting that Rondo’s first game in a Mavericks uniform comes Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs, who have Tony Parker on their roster? The Mavericks re-tooled their roster to contend with the defending champs, and they’ll get that chance Saturday.
After that, the journey begins for a deep Mavericks playoff run, and it rests in the hands of Rajon Rondo.