Brooklyn Nets: Rajon Rondo could address point guard depth
By Akbar Best
On Court Production
Rajon Rondo checks a lot of boxes for the Brooklyn Nets as far as intangibles. As stated previously, veteran leadership, hard work and basketball IQ are all things that work for Rondo. But he is a far cry from being a slouch on the court.
Although he is no longer the All-NBA defender that he used to be, Rondo can still play good defense is spurts. He still plays the passing lanes pretty well as well as slyly picks opponents’ pockets.
He has aged, but his vision is as good as ever and Rondo’s pass first game isn’t going anywhere. It still is the heart and soul of his game. He believes it makes teammates play better and harder knowing there is always a chance that they can get the ball.
He’s coming off a season averaging 8.0 assists per game despite playing next to LeBron James and Lonzo Ball. In his 13 years in the league, Rondo has averaged around 8.5 assists per game and has topped the eight-assist per game mark nine separate seasons.
At 6-foot-1, Rondo is still a great rebounder for his size. He brought in 5.3 boards per game last year and averages 4.8 a night for his career. And the most improved part of his game is his 3-point shot. Teams will still dare him to shoot it, but he makes them pay a lot more than he used to.
In parts of nine seasons with the Boston Celtics, Rondo only shot better than 30 percent from 3 once and hit 25.2 percent of his deep attempts while with the Celtics. Since the Celtics traded him, he’s only shot below 35 percent from 3 once, with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2017-18.
This means Rondo won’t be a liability and can play a little more off ball and he’s increasingly done so later in his career. Rondo also offers a play style shift at the point guard position, where the team has multiple score-first players.
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But Rondo’s pass-first play style gives coach Kenny Atkinson another look. I think the Brooklyn Nets should do their due diligence in looking at Rajon Rondo. It can’t hurt to at least inquire about the chances of bringing Rondo and his championship pedigree to Brooklyn.