Bulls Player Outlooks: Rajon Rondo

Will Rajon Rondo, the Bulls’ slower, older new PG, be any better than Derrick Rose was after the injuries?

Let’s set some cynical over/unders for Rajon Rondo’s first (and … last?) Chicago Bulls season. All bets can be emailed to hotguy69@hotmail.com, payouts will be made at the end of the season.

Number of broadcast sideline fights between Rondo and Hoiberg: 10.5

Number of rumored but unconfirmed locker room fights between Rondo and Hoiberg leaked to the media: 40.5

Number of times a pissed-off Rondo throws a teammate under the bus in a pregame interview: 17.5

Number of times a pissed-off Rondo throws a teammate under the bus in a postgame interview: 23.5

Number of times, per game, where Rondo has an easy opportunity to score, but instead waits until he can pass the ball to someone else for the assist credit: 2.5

Number of times, per game, that Rondo sees an open teammate to set up a play and waves them off because he doesn’t think he’ll get a direct assist by passing to them: 15

Number of games before Rondo is traded: 45

Rondo’s free-throw percentage: 55%

Rondo’s three-point percentage: 32%

I initially penciled the Bulls in for a cleverly low-key tank job when they signed on the combative, past-his-prime Rajon Rondo. Then they added Dwyane Wade, and suddenly I want Rondo to actually, you know, be good. Or at least, I wanted him to not hurt the development of any chemistry between Wade and Jimmy Butler — because that’s a real possibility.

But, what if I’m wrong?

Rondo could bounce back this season.

After all, he’s playing on the team with the highest performative ceiling since 2012, from a pure talent angle. These Bulls also have a clearly defined hierarchy stemming from the personal and team success of the two players ahead of him in the Chicago pecking order. Wade has the potential to be Chicago’s second All-Star, and until this year’s Olympics, I was convinced that Rondo’s 2015-16 teammate DeMarcus Cousins was merely a paper All-Star. Jimmy Butler and Wade appeared to be Rondo’s first legit All-Star compadres since he laced up next to Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in Boston.

(Back to Cousins quickly — even though that’s no longer how I feel about him, I’m not a fan of sub-.500 team members getting All-Star berths, no matter the dysfunction of their circumstances.)

If Rondo can dial back in on defense and focus more on setting up teammates to succeed rather than holding the ball too long so he can tally meaningless assists, who knows, maybe we can party like it’s 2010.

Unfortunately, the best coach to cultivate a performance like that from him in today’s NBA was canned by the Bulls last summer. Even in his prime, Rondo’s game was never predicated on athleticism. Rondo losing half a step since his ACL tear in 2013 really shouldn’t deter from what he does on the floor.

Can he find a way to keep converting his three point attempts at an above-average clip, as he did in Sacramento when his defenders just sagged off him behind the arc? I doubt it.

But, Rondo can be an efficient passer, and even if he can’t cleanly defend at halcyon-days levels, maybe he can make up the difference with some covert dirty moves. If being on a team with two All-Stars to pass the rock to and a whopping 34 national television games on its docket this season isn’t incentive enough, there’s also the fact that Rondo has never been really paid, certainly not at the level a four-time All-Star who’s only 30 might feel he deserves.

Next: Stop messin' with Derrick Rose, NBA 2K17

He knows that, at least during those 34 national games, he is essentially auditioning for other teams to extend one last long-term, big-bucks deal his way this summer, should he and the Bulls part company (and they will, barring a deep playoff run).

You’d think Rondo will be on his best behavior with the world watching.

Then again, it was reasonable to expect that during his tenure with the Dallas Mavericks and we all know how that worked out.