Rajon Rondo is playing through the tail end of his one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings. He will enter free agency this summer, at which point, after the disastrous season Sacramento has had, he’ll most definitely leave.
Or maybe not.
Per Sean Cunningham of ABC 10 in Sacramento:
Rajon Rondo optimistic about Kings & his future. 'I don't know why we sucked this year, but we did & it'll make it sweeter for next year'
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) March 31, 2016
Oh, okay then.
At first glance, this seems absurd. The Kings won’t win 35 games this year and seem light years behind the Western Conference’s playoff bubble. They have a lame duck head coach in George Karl, and their franchise cornerstone, DeMarcus Cousins, hasn’t seemed even remotely happy with the franchise at any point over the last half-decade.
On second thought, though, this makes sense.
Rondo, for starters, shouldn’t want to burn any bridges. There is also value in stability, in not playing for a fourth team in three years.
Mostly, though, Rondo doesn’t have a whole lot of other options. Most of the league’s teams don’t have an opening for a starting point guard, and Rondo’s ball-dominant play style is met with mixed fervor in today’s pace-and-space NBA.
There’s a chance that the two teams in most need of a floor general, the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks, won’t even show interest in him this summer, even though both will have cap space. And knowing that possibility even exists, it’s best for Rondo if he can stay put, in Sacramento, where he’s guaranteed a prominent role.
