Team USA was just a matter of days away from being forced to trim their 13-man roster down to the mandatory 12. Speculation leading up to the final cut was that Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook and Eric Gordon were the three guys on the bubble and each were fighting for that final spot. While that may have been true, apparently Rajon Rondo should’ve been added to that list too. Rondo just withdrew from Team USA consideration, making the final cut unnecessary.
I actually thought Rondo’s ability to push the rock would be the reason why he would make the squad, and that Eric Gordon would be the odd man out. Rondo started the game against France as was able to beat just about anybody off the dribble. He also started the Lithuania game, but didn’t exactly turn any heads. He shot 1-4 from the floor for 2 points. He also had just one assist and turned the ball over four times in 14 minutes worth of work. For this effort he was rewarded with a DNP-CD (Did not play, coach’s decision) the next game by Coach K. Feeling that he had fallen out of the good graces of the coaching staff, Rondo felt that the writing was on the wall for him. After the game he was quoted as having said, “I think I’m on the bubble. Just looking at the obvious. I got a DNP last game. That pretty much speaks for itself.” Not too long later, it was announced that Rondo withdrew from the team.
Rondo’s most glaring deficiency as a player is his inability to consistently knock down outside shots and free throws. We see it all the time in Boston, but it’s magnified even more during international play where outside shooting is that much more important. He is an extremely annoying perimeter defender and plays the passing lanes exceptionally well, but that alone wasn’t enough to win over the coaches.
What really gets me about this whole situation is that as of right now, until additional information is released, it sounds to me like Rondo simply quit because he didn’t want to actually be cut. His quote above leads me to feel that way. What’s that about? If he made it this far, why not just tough it out a few more days rather than withdraw? That seems very weak to me. USA Basketball chairman, Jerry Colangelo said that Rondo is withdrawing in order to handle “some family matters to attend to and some things to take care of before the NBA season.” Really? It looks like he just didn’t want to get cut, because Rondo was also quoted as having said, “it’s what’s best for the country” eluding to his decision to withdraw. Rondo didn’t offer any reason other than that. Colangelo did. Again, maybe additional info will become available as to what forced him to withdraw. If there really was a family issue then I take all of this back and will applaud him for putting family first. But if it’s just a matter of not wanting to be told that he didn’t make the team, there’s something wrong with that.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes.
