Rajon Rondo did not have his best season a year ago between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks, so this offseason he was not a highly sought after free agent. The Sacramento Kings took a chance on Rondo and gave him a one-year, $11 million deal and so far Rondo has played great despite the fact that the team is just 7-12. With Rondo set to become a free agent again this offseason, DeMarcus Cousins doesn't believe he is signing anywhere else, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
Cousins has been with the Kings his whole career and has struggled through some tough times despite some great individual success, so having another star player on his side, especially one like Rondo who is a premiere passer, is definitely something that he wants to continue. Naturally, Rondo's free agency came up in a discussion with Cousins and he thinks there is no doubt he will re-sign this offseason.
"He ain't going nowhere. I will kidnap him myself," Cousins said. Rondo was asked a similar question to which he responded by saying, "In the words of K.G., 'Anything is possible.'"
There was a report earlier this season that Rondo turned down a five-year, $70 million extension from the Celtics before last season began so clearly he thinks highly of himself and feels he deserves a max contract. Rondo will be 30 when he hits free agency this summer, so it will be interesting to see whether the Kings want to give a long term deal to a guy who will seemingly be passing his prime, but it seems like that is certainly what Cousins wants.
Rondo is currently in the middle of having a tremendous comeback season, averaging 12.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and a league-leading 10.7 assists per game. Rondo has also shown tremendous improvement in his three-point shooting as he is shooting a career-high 35 percent from beyond the arc this season.
Rondo's free agency is still a long way away and he still has to finish out this season playing as well as he has started, but he is having an all-star worthy year and the Kings are desperate for some sort of continuity, so re-signing him would make a lot of sense. Most importantly though, the Kings' star player wants him back and Sacramento needs to do everything they can to keep Cousins happy moving forward.
