Rajon Rondo withdraws from Team USA

[Passenger57 65]

Rajon Rondo looked like a man with a lot on his mind as he sat under the basket, all by himself, while the rest of the members of Team USA congregated in the bench areas or put up a few extra shots following the conclusion of practice Tuesday at OAKA Arena.

 

"I think I'm on the bubble," Rondo told ESPN.com. "Just looking at the obvious -- I got a DNP last game. That pretty much speaks for itself."

 

Just a couple hours later at the team hotel, after a meeting with the coaching staff and the team hierarchy, Rondo had a one-way plane ticket back to the United States.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/news/story?id=5493184

 

Rondo made it easy for them, quitting the team before he got the axe. I thought he was a punk before, now I know he is.

[~O~ 565]

Do you think Rondo is building an ego?

[Manu Ginobili 61]

It shows Krysewszky knows what he's up against. FIBA is no NBA, Rondo's weaknesses (namely, his jump shot) would be exposed against teams playing zone defense all the time.

 

After his poor rotations in Beijing 08, I think this is a good move by the coach. But his in-game approach leaves a lot to be desired, to be honest.

[Emory889 353]

Do you think Rondo is building an ego?

 

Not based off of his comments in the article. I thought he took the probability of getting cut - and it's probably the only time in his life that he hasn't made a basketball team - pretty well.

 

His game just doesn't translate well to the international game. Teams would zone the hell out of him as soon as he stepped onto the court.

[sharp/7/shooter 23]

I think Rondo should have stayed with the team regardless. Repping the USA and wearing his country's colors is an amazing situation. He should have worked hard in practice - working on that jumper and proving Coach K wrong. I think he would have been better off working on his game with the group of guys there and take in the experience. Rather than accepting the situation and battling, he took the route home. If he were to train around his hometown, what tools are more effective and trainers more experienced than the coaching staff of the USA team? Playing with stars and international talent should have been a humbling experience for him but he decided to pack his bags and leave? Where is your heart, where is that determination?

 

I get that he wanted to leave because he didn't fit into the international system, and that he wasn't getting playing time. I understand that he knew this and thought he was taking up space, but come on, man up and show that you give a damn. Even if he didn't want to risk getting injured, he wasn't playing anyways. Or if he really wanted it, he could have worked like Westbrook did and played his way onto the floor.

[VCplusD12 91]

Boston has to keep their only young guy on the team fresh

[sharp/7/shooter 23]

Boston has to keep their only young guy on the team fresh

 

It isn't like their running the players into the ground. I don't think staying with the team would do more harm than good. If the concern was to keep him fresh, well, he wasn't playing anyways. I doubt that practicing with the Olympic team would cause an injury, they have many players that have responsibilities to their clubs. IDK if staying fresh means getting away from basketball, but I think he'd have time to recover from practicing after the Olympic games are over.

[KandiKane 136]

Pffft, the guy can not shoot. He was the one that should have been cut, Westbrook/Curry/Rose all out played him international style. He is an egotistic punk.