Mavs' Cuban understands Rondo's sentiments
DALLAS – Rajon Rondo expressing his desire to keep the Dallas Mavericks out of the playoffs didn’t bother Mark Cuban one bit.
In fact, Cuban laughed about the comments Rondo made after his Sacramento Kings routed the Mavs on Sunday.
“If I walked into an arena and every time I touched the ball somebody booed me, I’d be saying the same s—,” Cuban said Wednesday night. “I say the same s— about other teams all the time. I want to see the Lakers go 0-82, the Spurs go 0-82. I would do the same thing, so I’m not blaming [Rondo] for that.”
Dallas fans detest Rondo due to his disastrous stint with the Mavs after he arrived in a blockbuster trade from the Boston Celtics in December 2014.
The Mavs hoped that acquiring the four-time All-Star point guard would elevate them to contender status, but Rondo fit poorly in Dallas and clashed with coach Rick Carlisle. Rondo left the team for good after Game 2 of the Mavs’ first-round series with the Houston Rockets. The team issued a press release stating that Rondo had a back injury, but multiple sources told ESPN.com that his departure was a mutual decision.
Rondo has taken great pleasure in beating the Mavs, who were ninth in the West standings with a 35-38 record entering Wednesday night’s home game against the New York Knicks, three times with the Kings this season.
“Yeah, I want them to get their plane ticket as soon as we get ours,” Rondo said after his 11-point, 11-assist in Sunday’s 133-111 win over the Mavs. “So anytime we can help, that’s what I try to get these guys [his teammates] to focus on.
“If we’re not going to make the playoffs, then let’s help some of these guys go home with us.” Rondo averaged 16.7 points and 9.3 assists in the three wins over the Mavs this season. He sat out the Kings’ loss in Dallas due to a legitimate back injury.
The Mavs still owe the Celtics a top-seven-protected pick to complete the Rondo deal.
