Report: NBA not punishing Rajon Rondo for leg swing

Not cool, @RajonRondo, not cool pic.twitter.com/zO7K5CcKw6

— Enrique García (@KikeGarcia41) January 6, 2016

Standing near the Kings’ bench, Rajon Rondo appeared to kick at Mavericks guard Deron Williams

Sam Amick of USA Today:

The NBA has decided that there will be no punishment for Sacramento Kings point guard Rajon Rondo for his sideline kick toward Dallas Mavericks point guard Deron Williams in the first overtime of their game on Tuesday, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports.

the NBA’s investigation into the situation included a baseline camera view that, in essence, got Rondo off the hook. The camera angle showed that Rondo swiped his leg sideways and didn’t come as close to making contact with Williams as other angles had made it appear.

I certainly believe that.

But this also isn’t the first time Rondo has done something like this.

Maybe Rondo just has bad luck about when he’s spotted stretching his leg, but you’d had have a hard time convincing me he’s not deliberately trying to affect opponents. Rondo almost certainly doesn’t want to make contact with them, but it seems he wants to threaten it.

That should not be tolerated. Players should have freedom of movement between the sidelines and baselines without worrying about someone – opponents, fans, camera people, anyone – sticking out a foot that could injure them.

If the league didn’t warn Rondo after the incident during the Mavericks-Rockets playoff series, it missed an opportunity. Hopefully, Rondo was at least told this time he’d get punished if he does this again.