The Sacramento Kings took a $10 million gamble on Rajon Rondo, and it's
paying off
by Scott Davis
Rajon Rondo had one of the most unceremonious endings to a season in recent
memory.
After his trade to the Dallas Mavericks turned out to be a disaster, Rondo
was sent home from the team in the middle of a first-round playoff series,
effectively ending his year.
It was the worst possible timing, as Rondo was about to become a free agent.
He didn't fit a solid Mavs team at all, had problems with the coach, and
overall looked like an outdated point guard in today's pace-and-space NBA.
When Rondo hit free agency, it seemed there was little interest in him. After
striking out on free agents they valued more, the Kings and Rondo settled on
a one-year, $9.5 million deal.
13 games into the season, it has looked like one of the smarter signings that
nobody saw coming.
Rondo is currently leading the Kings in minutes while averaging 12.6 points
per game, 7.6 rebounds, 10.2 assists, and nearly two steals. His 43%
shooting, 31% from three, and four turnovers per game leave a little to be
desired, but across the board, he's improved from last season. (His 31%
three-point shooting would actually tie his career-best mark).
Rondo already has four triple-doubles this season, and the Kings are 2-2 in
those games. He's beginning to regain his form when he was on the Celtics and
consistently led the league in triple-doubles.
Due to the Kings' record, advanced stats don't necessarily do Rondo many
favors. The Kings offensive rating improves only marginally when he's on the
court, but their defensive rating actually falls, giving him a negative net
rating. This happens on 4-9 teams.
other teams.
Much of this is due to Rondo playing in his loose, freestyle fashion of
yesteryear.
It's also notable that thus far, Rondo's attitude problems haven't seemed to
surface. Amidst the chaos of Cousins and George Karl, seemingly all has been
quiet around Rondo, who has a history of being a somewhat contentious
personality in the locker room.
Instead, the Kings have gotten near-peak Rondo — the Swiss Army Knife point
guard who can dictate a game in few ways other point guards can.
If his play keeps up, and perhaps more importantly, continues to show
chemistry with Cousins, it'll be interesting to see how much the Kings are
willing to shell out to keep him around. Rondo is having his best season in
years, and if he keeps it up, he'll hit free agency as the salary cap
explodes. Given that the Kings gave Rondo a shot after a disastrous finish to
the season, they may have mutual feelings about a reunion.
國王隊賭了Rondo一把10m的賭注，而它正開始有了回報
Rondo上個賽季的結局十分唐突。
在他被交易到達拉斯後，小牛隊簡直陷入了災難，而Rondo也在季後賽第一輪就
被球隊送回老家，實質上的結束了上個賽季。
這自然是一最糟糕的時機進入自由市場，無法融入球隊，和教練交惡，還在現代
的比賽步調中，成為了一個過時的控球後衛。
當Rondo成為自由球員時，市場對他的興趣並不高。在評估了許多後，Rondo和國
王達成一筆9.5m的一年約。
現在，13場比賽過去了，這筆合約看起來像是一個獨具慧眼的絕妙補強。
Rondo是現在國王隊中上場時間最高的球員，夾帶著場均12.6分，7.6籃板10.2助攻
以及接近2的抄截數。43%的命中率和31%的三分球命中率，似乎還有進步的空間，
但整體看來，已經比去年賽季大幅進步。
(事實上31%的三分命中率已經超越他的生涯最佳單季三分命中率)
註:今日為止36.4%
Rondo本季已經累積了4次大三元，而這四場國王的戰績是兩勝兩負。他開始回到
那個在賽爾提克隊時，全聯盟大三元領跑者的狀態。
根據國王隊的紀錄，進階數據並沒有肯定Rondo太多。Rondo在場上時，國王隊的
Off Rating只有輕微的提升，但Def Rating卻下降了，這給了他負的Net Rating
這只發生在4到9個球隊裡。大多是因為Rondo用著他去年散漫、我行我素的方式
在打球。
然而，那些Cousins和Rondo共同上場的比賽中(因傷缺陣5場)，國王戰績是四勝四負。
當他們兩個同時在場上時，有4.0的Net Rating，這意味著他們領先了許多球隊。
另一件值得注意的是，Rondo的態度問題似乎尚未浮現。被夾在Cousins和Karl的
混亂中，Rondo的周圍反倒十分安靜。在過去，他有著影響休息室氣氛的爭議性格。
如果他的表現能持續上升，並且繼續和Cousins展現出化學效應，國王隊會願意付
出多少將他留下，會很有意思。Rondo打出近幾年最好的球季，如果可以持續下去
那他將會衝擊薪資上限爆炸的自由市場。有鑑於國王隊在那種艱難時刻給了Rondo
機會，雙方應該對於再次的合作都有些默契。