Soon-to-be free agent Rajon Rondo signing with the Los Angeles Lakers in July appears imminent. As frustrations continue to grow between Rondo and Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle in the 2015 NBA playoffs, a new report claims Rondo originally wanted to sign with the Lakers this summer and has no intention to stay Dallas if Carlisle remains there.
Things haven't worked out for Rondo since Dallas traded for him in December. Rondo has the reputation for being a playoff-player, but the biggest headline he's made so far in the 2015 playoffs has been for his continuing tiff with Carlisle.
"(Everyone) could see again in Game 2 that his struggles with Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle remain an immense hurdle," Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski wrote Wednesday. "On the court, there were those who believed Rondo's eight-second violation for failing to cross the midcourt line was an act of protest on the coach's calling of plays. Rondo played 10 minutes, picking up fouls for slapping at James Harden, and finally a technical to start the third quarter for shoving Harden out of sheer frustration.
"Carlisle banished him to the bench, choosing Raymond Felton over Rondo in the fourth quarter."
It wasn't the first time Carlisle benched Rondo, but the fact he did it in a playoff game was telling. Houston went on to outscore Dallas 30-19 in the fourth quarter, winning 111-99 and dropping Dallas to 0-2 in the series.
Wojnarowski reported Rondo originally planned to sign with Los Angeles this summer when he realized his time in Boston was coming to an end. After the Celtics traded him to Dallas, though, Rondo was reportedly open to re-signing with the Mavericks.
That's apparently no longer the case.
"Everything's pushing Rondo closer to his inevitable free-agent fleeing to the Lakers this summer," Wojnarowski wrote. "As long as the coach is back, Rondo's gone, sources told Yahoo Sports. The parting could be mutual."
Multiple reports indicate Rondo is a lock to sign with the Lakers after the season. Working in Los Angeles' favor is the fact Rondo will be coming off a down season and hasn't looked the same since tearing his ACL two seasons ago, meaning it's likely a team can get away with signing him for less than the max.
