It’s not all sweet in Dallas
Less than two months after Rajon Rondo took his talents from the Boston Celtics to the Dallas Mavericks as part of a holiday trade between both teams, tension is already rising between the All-Star point guard and his new coach.
During Tuesday’s win against the Toronto Raptors, Rondo was benched by coach Rick Carlisle after the two got into a heated exchange during a timeout. The two were going at it because of play calling duties, which Rondo ignored from the coach on a trip down the floor and prompted the timeout. As he walked back to the bench, Coach Carlisle was visibly screaming profanity at Rajon and he fired back. The two also got into it in the locker room after the game.
Reports out of Dallas have been saying the tension has been building for a minute and it goes back to the playcalling. Rondo has always been known for a hard player to coach and the experiment thus far has already gearing it’s ugly head. Mark Cuban tried to downplay the friction by saying it happens every day between coaches and players, but this might just be the tip of the iceberg. In a game against the Chicago Bulls last month, he was also benched in the 4th quarter.
Rondo has been suspended for one game for conduct detrimental to the team and will miss the Mavericks upcoming game with the Atlanta Hawks In his place, Coach Carlisle will use the combination of Devin Harris and J.J. Barea.
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