Recent Sacramento Kings rumors make it sound like point guard Rajon Rondo may not be in the team’s plans this summer.
Sacramento Kings rumors will be flying in the coming days and weeks, as they prepare to select in the top 10 for the eighth consecutive season. After that the focus will turn to free agency, where the Kings will have some decisions to make regarding their roster.
Arguably the biggest decision they will have to make will be in regards to unrestricted free agent point guard, Rajon Rondo.
Rondo signed a one-year, $9.5 million deal with the Kings last season in hopes of building his value back up after a disastrous 2014-15 season. Rondo was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Dallas Mavericks that season, and to say things went poorly would be an understatement.
As a result, Rondo was unable to land the long-term deal that he sought, settling for a one-year deal instead with the Kings. While the Kings had a disappointing season overall, going 33-49 and having George Karl fired at the end of the season, Rondo had a good season statistically.
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Rondo played in and started 72 games, averaging a double-double with an NBA-best 11.7 assists to go with 11.9 points per game. It was the fourth time in his career that he averaged a double-double, as he also added six rebounds and two steals per game.
Rondo also had the best three-point shooting season of his career, connecting on 36.5 percent of his shot attempts from deep.
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Shooting has always been Rondo’s Achilles’ heel, so seeing him improve in that category should only help his free agent candidacy. But, that also means that more teams will be in on the process wanting Rondo’s services. But if a bidding war is to ensure, don’t expect the Kings to take part.
According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the Kings are going to set a price for what they believe that Rondo is worth and will not be crossing that line.
In other words, the Kings will not be getting into a bidding war for Rondo, as they would rather let him leave as a free agent than go above what they believe he is worth.
This is in line with what James Han of CSN California said as well. Ham believes that the Kings, once believed to badly want Rondo to return, are not as anxious to bring the 10-year veteran back to Sacramento.
About the Kings’ willingness to bring back Rondo, Ham said, “cooled slightly on the idea of bringing back for a second tour of duty.”
While some people may believe this is just another poor move made by the Kings front office, this one has some merit. While Rondo’s stats look good, his performance on the defensive side of the ball, despite the two steals per game, left a lot to be desired.
The Kings were two points better per 100 possessions with Rondo off the court than on it, and allowed players he was defending to shoot 2.1 percent better than their regular shooting percentage.
With the changes in the coaching staff, as Dave Joerger was hired away from the Memphis Grizzlies to replace Karl, defense will probably become the focal point of the Kings.
Also, Rondo will not be playing at the same break-neck pace under Joerger as he did with Karl, so his stats could see a drop as well.
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As a result, it makes sense that Rondo is no longer looking like a priority for the Kings this offseason.
Add in the fact that the Kings have a very capable point guard already on the roster in Darren Collison and it becomes more and more clear that it may make sense for both Rondo and the Kings to part ways after one season.