The Dallas Mavericks handed a one-game suspension to point guard Rajon Rondo following his on-court spat with coach Rick Carlisle. In light of the suspension, and the reported "friction" between Rondo and Carlisle, Rondo may be more inclined to test the market as a free agent after the season.
Rondo's heated exchange with Carlisle Tuesday night during a timeout earned him a one-game ban for "conduct detrimental to the team," according to ESPN's Marc Stein. Although the team banned him from Wednesday's game against Atlanta, Carlisle insisted the mercurial guard was still an "extremely important" part of the team.
"The events of last night are now in the past, and we've got to move forward," Carlisle told reporters, via ESPN. "I need to say this very clearly: He is an extremely important part of our team. Our efforts to get to the highest possible level largely hinge on him playing and playing well with him. He needs to play well with us, and we need to play well with him. It's a two-way street.
"The incident last night was born in large part out of poor communication between him and I. That's on both of us. We had a long talk about the situation today, and we both agreed that we need to communicate more frequently. We need to work on the solution for making his stint as a Dallas Maverick the most successful one possible. We're looking at 23 games here. Right now, this is a critical time for us."
ESPN reported Wednesday there's been "friction" building between Carlisle and Rondo over play-calling responsibilities. Rondo has a history of butting heads with coaches, but it's possible the disagreement over who should call the plays - along with the one-game suspension - will be enough to convince Rondo to leave a title-contending team after the season and test free agency.
How well Dallas does in the postseason ultimately could be the deciding factor.
