Rajon Rondo was back in the rotation for the Bulls Tuesday in Washington, after having spent more than a week glued to the bench following a rough game against the Pacers a couple of weeks back where he was -20 in the first half. With the Bulls offense stumbling, coach Fred Hoiberg decided to take a look at Michael Carter-Williams and other rotations.
Rondo was no fan of the benching. As you might imagine.
Rondo on explanation of benching: "A member of the staff told me I needed to be saved from myself"
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) January 10, 2017
Rondo said he was told the -20 he had in Indy was a reason for his benching: "I think it's bulls***."
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) January 10, 2017
Rondo: “Saving me from myself, I’ve never heard that before in my life. I guess he was trying to do the best thing for me."
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) January 10, 2017
On if he feels deceived: "Depends on how you guys write it. It’s different. When I signed here. It’s a lot different than I anticipated."
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) January 10, 2017
Rondo was flat-out awful against the Pacers and deserved to be benched. And him running the offense with the Bulls’ usual starters basically plays their opponents even — you can’t blame Fred Hoiberg for looking for better answers.
What Rondo wants is the ball in his hands a lot and the autonomy to make decisions. Both of those things have been shrinking. More and more the ball has been in Jimmy Butler’s hands — with good reason, he’s their best player — and Hoiberg is calling more plays.
With Dwyane Wade and Butler on the wing, the Bulls need shooting at the point — that’s not Rondo. So this partnership is ultimately doomed. He will get traded eventually (only $3 million of his salary next season is guaranteed, some team will give the Bulls a pick or something useful for the savings). But for now, it will continue in its awkward way.