Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins are together again.
As had been rumored for a couple of days, the New Orleans Pelicans and Rajon Rondo have agreed to terms on a one-year deal, something broken by Shams Charania of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports.
Free agent Rajon Rondo has reached agreement on a one-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 15, 2017
This reunites Rondo and Cousins, who not only teammates in Sacramento but also each other’s best friends in that fractured locker room. With the Pelicans betting big on making the playoffs next season and keeping Cousins — if those things don’t happen, expect a major housecleaning on the basketball side — it’s a good gamble to bring Rondo in.
The Pelicans will start Jrue Holiday at the point — they just overpaid him to keep him (they had no choice) — and Rondo is now his most reliable backup. Rondo was in-and-out of the Bulls lineup last season but by the end played well for them at the point after the All-Star break and finished the season averaging 7.8 points, 6.7 assists and 5.1 rebounds a game.
The Pelicans have said they can see Holiday and Rondo playing together and maybe even forming a starting backcourt, which may be worth trying but with Rondo’s lack of shooting — he did shoot 42 percent on corner threes last season but opposing teams will let him take all the threes he wants — it seems challenging on a team that will need floor spacing.
Rondo is still a reliable playmaker for others, something that could help both Davis and Cousins, but he is not a threat with his jump shot, nor is he much of a defender anymore. He makes a quality backup point guard, the Pelicans have bet he accepts that role and doesn’t rock the boat much in an important year for the franchise.
