The Dallas Mavericks' Rajon Rondo experiment may be short lived. With Rondo seemingly turning out to be a bad fit, Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News believes Dallas may target Phoenix Suns guard Brandon Knight or Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic in free agency.
Rondo's blowup last week with coach Rick Carlisle was followed with a report from ESPN indicating "friction" was building between the player and the coach over play-calling responsibilities. Since then, speculation has arisen about Rondo's future in Dallas. Cowlishaw believes Dallas ultimately could decide to pursue a guard like Knight or Dragic in free agency this summer.
"I agree that more and more it appears Rondo is a bad fit here," Cowlishaw said Thursday, via The Morning News. "I'm not there yet to say don't even think about signing him because I was in favor of the deal in part because I felt it would help in the playoffs. But it's hard to imagine Rondo being this inefficient for 40 games or so in the regular season, then playing well for a few weeks in the post-season to the point that you say, 'Give him whatever he wants!' Brandon Knight is an option. Goran Dragic is an option. I'm not sure the Mavs will be able to compete on either of those after dealing with Chandler and other contracts."
Knight and Dragic become a restricted free agent an unrestricted free agent, respectively, in July. Neither point guard, though, looks likely to seriously test free agency after the season.
As for Rondo, having the play-calling responsibilities could be a deal breaker for him. If he were to test the market, he won't be short of suitors. Teams likely to pursue him in the offseason include the Los Angeles Lakers, the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets.
