Rondo to Kings on one-year deal, sources say
The Sacramento Kings and free-agent point guard Rajon Rondo have agreed to a one-year deal worth $9.5 million, sources told ESPN.com’s Jeff Goodman and Marc Stein.
In the opening hours of free agency Wednesday, the Kings requested a meeting with Rondo and also offered what sources told ESPN.com was a mammoth four-year, $64 million deal to Portland Trail Blazers free-agent swingman Wesley Matthews. Matthews, though, ultimately reached a verbal agreement on a four-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks.
Rondo’s brief stint in Dallas was a disaster after he was the centerpiece in a blockbuster trade in December with the Boston Celtics. His most memorable moments in a Mavs uniform were a heated on-court exchange with coach Rick Carlisle that led to a one-game suspension in February and being pulled after picking up two quick fouls and a technical foul in the first minute of the second half of his final game, a Game 2 first-round playoff loss to the Houston Rockets.
The Mavs announced the next day that Rondo left the team due to a previously undisclosed back injury, which sources later confirmed was a cover-up for a mutual decision for Rondo and the team to part ways.
Rondo had a much more successful run with the Celtics, helping Boston win one title and advance to another NBA Finals while spending the first eight and a half years of his career with the franchise. He was a four-time All-Star and a four-time all-defensive team selection and won two assists title during his Celtics tenure.
The 29-year-old Rondo, who has career averages of 10.8 points, 8.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game, has not regained his previous explosiveness after suffering a serious knee injury in January 2013. He has never developed a perimeter jumper, shooting only 26.3 percent from 3-point range for his career.
Rondo’s addition comes hours after the Kings and shooting guard Marco Belinelli agreed to what sources said is a three-year, $19 million contract.
The point guard now will join All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins in Sacramento. Cousins’ name has been the focal point with the Kings this offseason, with sources saying owner Vivek Ranadive considered firing George Karl, who was hired as coach five months ago to help turn around the struggling franchise, due to Karl’s desire to trade Cousins.
ESPN.com’s Tim MacMahon contributed to this report.
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