Rajon Rondo was ejected in the Sacramento Kings loss on Thursday night to the Boston Celtics but overall he has been having an outstanding season and is in the conversation to be an All-Star in the Western Conference. Rondo is currently playing in Sacramento on a one year deal meaning he will be a free agent next summer and if he continues to play this well he will likely garner a lot of interest, the question is what kind of money teams will be willing to pay him. A couple of NBA executives reportedly feel that Rondo might be able to earn a max contract, according to Sean Deveney of Sporting News.
Last season Rondo was in the final year of his contract and did not play well with either the Celtics or the Dallas Mavericks after reportedly turning down a five year $70 million extension with the Celtics prior to the season. This year though, Rondo has looked like the former All-Star version of himself and it will likely pay dividends in his next contract.
"I don't know whether he will quite get the maximum, mostly because we don't know what the max is going to be. But there is going to be a lot of money on the market and only a handful of players who you would really say are max guys. If Rajon were to keep playing the way he's been playing, if he is not getting the max next year, it'll be close," said an Eastern Conference general manager.
Rondo will be 30 years old when he reaches free agency so teams might not be willing to give him a five year contract but a three year deal with money close to the max sounds like a reasonable expectation for his next contract, provided he continues playing the way he has. Even Rick Carlisle, who Rondo didn't exactly get along with last season, believes that Rondo will cash in big time next summer.
"He's a max player next year. Someone's going to have to back up the truck to get him," said Carlisle.
It is still too early to know whether the Kings will be the team to give him that next contract but as of right now it seems like a good fit. Kings star player DeMarcus Cousins clearly wants Rondo back long-term as he said "he ain't going nowhere, I will kidnap him myself." Rondo hasn't given any indication as to whether he would consider re-signing with the Kings but something tells me that if the money is right he will have no problem staying.
