UPDATE: Rajon Rondo Withdraws from Team USA

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• Nate C Posted: Aug.24 at 1:12 pm
  why would he get cut? Oh yeah, because he sucks.

• Javy Posted: Aug.24 at 1:13 pm
  Which is why I keep saying these dude looks pretty on a celtic’s squad where other players don’t have to worry about defending him.
  You put him on another team and he becomes average!!
  Thanks Team USA for proving my point!!!
  AllStar????PLEASSSSSSEEEEEE.

• airs Posted: Aug.24 at 1:15 pm
  hope rondo makes the squad, i think he’d do well in FIBA

• hendry Posted: Aug.24 at 1:22 pm
  his jumpshot is why they are considering cutting him. the person that guards him will just go under the screen every time.

• Silent Storm Posted: Aug.24 at 1:24 pm
  29 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists in the playoffs against Cleveland…Yeah, he really sucks doesn’t he?

• J Posted: Aug.24 at 1:32 pm
  Rondo is an incredible point guard.

• LA Huey Posted: Aug.24 at 1:34 pm
  I wondered why he wasn’t in the game. I can see him getting cut, his offensive game isn’t very well suited for FIBA ball and his defense wasn’t making enough of an impact.

• DDB Posted: Aug.24 at 1:35 pm
  Rondo is not built for real basketball. He is built for the modern day NBA game where physicality and defense are basically outlawed. He can run up and down real fast and make layups when nobody gets in his way. NBA Basketball…Faaaaaaantastic

• Ryan Bourgeois Posted: Aug.24 at 1:35 pm
  you are all stupid

• chiqo Posted: Aug.24 at 1:37 pm
  hmm, thought he played well when he played. then again, it was china and france.

• Allenp Posted: Aug.24 at 1:37 pm
  I don’t they weren’t making cuts until Wednesday.
  And, if this is true, I’m very pleased. Smart move.

• Allenp Posted: Aug.24 at 1:39 pm
  Sorry, I thought they weren’t making cuts until Wednesday.
  Rondo’s strengths were already well represented on the team, and they couldn’t afford his weaknesses.

• total scrotal implosion Posted: Aug.24 at 1:44 pm
  Great move

• chiqo Posted: Aug.24 at 1:45 pm
  “Rajon came to us and said he was going to withdraw from the team, that he had some family matters to attend to and some things to take care of before the NBA season. He did an outstanding job during our training, we appreciate the effort and commitment he made to our program and he completely has our support,” said Colangelo. Read more: http://realgm.com/src_wiretap#ixzz0xXwwDxdg not exactly cut….

• JTaylor21 Posted: Aug.24 at 1:47 pm
  DDB when has euro ball EVER being real basketball. I rather watch the twilight movies a 100 times than watch one euro league game.

• riggs Posted: Aug.24 at 1:53 pm
  jesus christ i hope high school starts back up early so some of these kids can stop commenting on here.

• riggs Posted: Aug.24 at 1:54 pm
  also derrick rose got played by ricky rubio while on D and stripped by rubio while on O, bet you anything that wouldnt have happened to rondo.

• LA Huey Posted: Aug.24 at 1:55 pm
  @JTaylor21, so you’d rather lose several days worth of time than a couple hours? Weird.

• Sizzle Posted: Aug.24 at 1:55 pm
  He is a great point guard in the L (one of the best) but his game is not suited for international play. He can’t really shoot it consistently from the outside and isn’t as strong as Billups, Rose or Westbrook. I say it should have been close between Rondo and Curry (although keeping Curry is a given for mere shooting purposes). This will only help him further develop though and give him more motivation to work on his game (and hopefully his outside shot).

• Coney Islander Posted: Aug.24 at 2:04 pm
  Sorry my man, only room for guards with jumpers on this squad. Hit the gym young fella!

• spit hot fiyah Posted: Aug.24 at 2:10 pm
  he turned it down, check realgm

• Sizzle Posted: Aug.24 at 2:12 pm
  After checking with ESPN – it appears he withdrew as the above posters have been indicating….

• The D Train Posted: Aug.24 at 2:13 pm
  @riggs: also derrick rose hit 2 game-winning freethrows in the closing seconds. bet you anything that wouldnt have happened with Rondo.

• voom Posted: Aug.24 at 2:14 pm
  just PR to save face. He was definately cut.

• Jake Posted: Aug.24 at 2:15 pm
  Pwn3d.

• T-Money Posted: Aug.24 at 2:15 pm
  Rondo is an incredible point guards in some aspects of the game, i.e., setting up teammates, finishing in traffic and jumping passing lanes. But his weaknesses are just too great for me to trust him. He sot 24% from the line vs LA in the Finals, he’s a career 24% shooter from deep, he’s not a great 1vs1 defender and can get swallowed by bigger points (google Doc’s comments on that), he’s INCREDIBLY stubborn and somewhat aloof. What the playoffs showed us is that he can eat Mo Williams alive, look it up on ESPN, his per’s for the other series are quite ordinary and his minutes went down in each series. He’s a very good player but not a well-balanced player.

• Jukai Posted: Aug.24 at 2:16 pm
  He was cut. He’s just saving face.
  Riggs: You think Rondo is better than Rose?

• Robb Posted: Aug.24 at 2:23 pm
  well, I thinkT-Money already explained it pretty clear.

• c_cantrell Posted: Aug.24 at 2:26 pm
  at least westbrook gets to stay

• luv2ball Posted: Aug.24 at 2:27 pm
  He needs to get a serviceable Jumper, and also shoot free throws better. even J kidd is a 78% free throw shooter

• T-Money Posted: Aug.24 at 2:31 pm
  I’d be willing to bet my life that nobody besides KD (and maybe Rose) makes next year’s team when the big dogs come back.

• Jukai Posted: Aug.24 at 2:33 pm
  T-Money: outside of Rondo not being a great 1v1 defender (he really is), you’re on the ball with everything else. Dude’s game isn’t balanced and it certainly isn’t able to adapt to the FIBA ball game without further training. This was the only logical choice.
  Westbrook really keeps impressing me, too.

• kundai Posted: Aug.24 at 2:33 pm
  im going in!! yea finally its shown that
  1. Rondo has a huge ego and cant take being cut like a man.
  2. He iis a system guy he fits the celtics system. 3. That he alot of work to do in order to be an overall great player.
  4. the rondo and rose comparison no longer is neck and neck. Rose is a better over all player than rondo. Isnt by much but rose is better.
  5. This shows the new top 5 poitn guards
  - Chris Paul/Deron Williams: Any order they 1 or 2 in any situation.
  - Rose/ Nash: Rose has shown his growth. Nash just Nash lol.
  - Rondo: great rebounder and attacker.

• Dave Posted: Aug.24 at 2:33 pm
  I honestly thought he was a LOCK to be on this team. They just got rid of their best passer.

• Diesel Posted: Aug.24 at 2:34 pm
  @riggs – to look at Rose getting stripped once and say he got played is a little much. And like someone already posted, Rose came up big twice when it mattered most.

• Dave Posted: Aug.24 at 2:37 pm
  Once again you cats gotta remember Chauncey Billups withdrew his name from the list once it was obvious Coach K was gonna take CP3, D-Will and J-Kidd. I’m pretty sure Rondo will have another great year and probably try his hardest to embarrass the Chicago Bulls during their first meeting next season.

• niQ Posted: Aug.24 at 2:38 pm
  For what it’s worth, Rondo has been dealing with a death of family member. It’s hard on him so y’all got to sit down. On another note, it’s sad that the team had to be finalized this way but it’s done and now it’s time to see if this team can pull it all off.

• 2dope Posted: Aug.24 at 2:39 pm
  Who cares about FIBA? Rest your body, work on that jumper and get ready to kill folks next year like you’ve been doing for the past 4 years. Love the way this kid play – this will only motivate him even more!

• LA Huey Posted: Aug.24 at 2:42 pm
  @Dave, I’m glad somebody remembered that Billups did this too. And it’s not a big deal. If you’re smart, you should know what the team needs and how your game fits in.

• Nate C Posted: Aug.24 at 2:53 pm
  @silent storm, you could put up those numbers on Anthony Parker

• Allenp Posted: Aug.24 at 2:53 pm
  Yeah, Rose got stripped, but he also stripped Rubio. He just couldn’t get to the rock before it went out of bounds. And he was unstoppable on the high screen and roll, Rondo is not.
  Rose is the best guard on the team, Rondo was not.

• LA Huey Posted: Aug.24 at 3:00 pm
  As much as I agree with “cutting” Rondo, I will miss the “Us v The World” attitude he brings. Hopefully, it rubbed off on them.

• MVPballer Posted: Aug.24 at 3:02 pm
  Nash isn’t Rondo caliber. Yeah, he is one of the best PG’s in the league, but he’s too much of a liability on d.
  And, if you watched some of Boston’s games this year you would see how ridiculous it is to say that he isn’t a good 1v1 defender. I’d say it’s one of his strengths, he just gambles too much on getting the steal sometimes.

• Jukai Posted: Aug.24 at 3:03 pm
  Uh, I really don’t think this proves ANYTHING about Rondo. His game isn’t made for the “shoot more, slash less” FIBA game.

• Allenp Posted: Aug.24 at 3:04 pm
  LA Huey
  Agreed. But, Westbrook got that on lock.

• T-Money Posted: Aug.24 at 3:19 pm
  Jukai: au contraire. this proves a lot. d-rose and wesbrook are not “made” for the international game either. if he was truly better than those two, he’d be on the team. hell, he’d start. according to that logi, rondo’s game is not made for the nba finals also, apparently. again, his weaknesses are just too, too great. rose and westbrook are not good shooters from deep (but very solid from midrange). rondo’s shooting is atrocious, historically bad for the point guard position. and that costs him in the playoffs too when kobe was just resting on him. he needs a reality check.

• luv2ball Posted: Aug.24 at 3:20 pm
  Rondo needs a reliable Jumper, He reminds me of a young J Kidd, but even Kidd jumper and free throw pct where way better than Rondos.

• Candice Posted: Aug.24 at 3:22 pm
  Didn’t know it was so much Rondo vs D.Rose as I go around the web looking at different sites, why?

• C-Lo_The_Great Posted: Aug.24 at 3:53 pm
  “Nash isn’t Rondo caliber.”
  Epic Failure quote of the day

• The Seed Posted: Aug.24 at 4:00 pm
  Hopefully Billups withdraws himself next and spares Team USA poor 3 point attempts trying to be a Hero. Thanks Rondo.

• c_cantrell Posted: Aug.24 at 4:04 pm
  ^MVPballer..
  im saying this on behalf of everyone else on this site.. your an idiot

• SpaceJam Posted: Aug.24 at 4:36 pm
  Nash is a better point guard offensively than rondo. Defense is another story. D rose is a better shooter and driver. He is a solid defender and you can’t compare assist to Rose and Rondo b/c look who Rondo has to pass to. Rose is gonna be 23 9 and 5 this year. @ The Seed, to much Billups hate man.

• dfrance21 Posted: Aug.24 at 4:48 pm
  Rondo is a good defender when he puts his mind to it, but when you really watch him, he gets extremely lazy on D at time. Hitting screens and stopping instead of fighting thru them, reaching for the ball and letting his man drive by. With that said he is still a top notch point guard and I believe given the chance, he would have found a way to overcome those weak points of his game and contribute to the team. It took him a while to learn the NBA game as well.

• luv2ball Posted: Aug.24 at 5:02 pm
  Nash 2 MVP’s – Rondo Mvp’s Rondo is decent, he is a stellar defender and distributor. I just question if he would be as effective on a team that didn’t have 3 hall of famers.

• Michael NZ Posted: Aug.24 at 5:02 pm
  Face saving move.

• Bigi Posted: Aug.24 at 5:24 pm
  Hmmmmmmm…

• Tyler Posted: Aug.24 at 5:38 pm
  First off he didn’t get cut he withdrew but he is a great young point guard shame to lose him like this but D Rose is a hell of a replacement so I’m not concerned with Team USA and their quest for gold

• rich Posted: Aug.24 at 5:55 pm
  rondo is absolutely a top 5 defender at his position top 5 passer and top 5 at running a team thats what most teams need outta a pg. this usa team just needs more dominant scorers and they dont have guys who will b able to play off rondo’s game. durant will have the ball a lot so rondo would basicly just running about looking for boards since he cant shoot or attack a collapsing defense like the other guards. on a traditional team rondo is the best choice,, but this is not a traditional team bc of the lack of bigs and the ball handling wing players

• Coney Islander Posted: Aug.24 at 6:03 pm
  When were we EVER comparing D “GOT GAME!” ROSE to that other guy that couldn’t throw a pebble into the Pacific ocean?!

• Masr Posted: Aug.24 at 6:09 pm
  How is Nash not “Rondo Caliber?” Give me three good reasons nash is not better then rondo.

• Anton Posted: Aug.24 at 6:26 pm
  Rondo taking his talents to his living room?

• Chi-Town Stand Up Posted: Aug.24 at 6:48 pm
  D-Rose is the best guard on team USA! For anyone saying Rose can’t shoot then obviously you’re too lazy of a basketball fan to do a little research in which you would see that D-Rose is the best mid range PG in the league! Fact not fiction!

• JTaylor21 Posted: Aug.24 at 7:30 pm
  Chi-Town, You may wanna slow down with the rose’s the best midrange point in the league crap. Dude is definitely TOP-5 without a doubt but guys like nash, paul, dwill are above him.

• luv2ball Posted: Aug.24 at 7:31 pm
  Oj Mayo has a better mid range game than D-Rose. Also, Richard Hamilton is a guard. He has one of the best Mid-range games ever

• Jukai Posted: Aug.24 at 7:38 pm
  Anton never fails with the hysterical zingers

• JTaylor21 Posted: Aug.24 at 7:39 pm
  Anybody comparing Rondo to JKidd is outta their DAMN mind. JKidd was a better passer, rebounder, individual defender, shooter, leader, There’s a reason why dude is third in triple double behind Magic and Oscar, two of the triple dub kings and lead the nets to two straight finals. JKidd is a TOP-5 point of all time without a question while Rondo will have a hard-time cracking the top ten after his career is done with.

• Jukai Posted: Aug.24 at 7:40 pm
  Chi-Town: Uh… Steve Nash? Deron Williams? Jameer Nelson? Mo Williams?

• Brickshooting J Posted: Aug.24 at 8:02 pm
  @ Jukai: I would assume you didn’t really mean to write ‘Mo Williams’, did you?

• The Philosopher Posted: Aug.24 at 8:25 pm
  Rajon Rondo = Taliek Brown with athletcism x 2.
  Rondo is what Brown could have been had he made The League.

• T-Money Posted: Aug.24 at 8:38 pm
  Guys, stop listening to Kenny Smith and the likes and look at the data. It’s available for evrybody to see on Hoop Data. Derrick Rose is horrific from deep but has been absolutely money from midrange in his 2 NBA years.

• JTaylor21 Posted: Aug.24 at 8:41 pm
  @Philospher, damn whats going on? Someone else must be using your name and writing that BS. Rondo may not be the most likable player but for people to downplay what he accomplishes without a legit jumpshot is downright foolish. Dude is one of the best passers, one of the best rebounding point, and though he may gamble a little too much for my liking on D he’s a lot better than many point guards(looking at you, NASH). Dude will be a great player even after the BIG 3 retire and remember he’s still young and gets better each year.

• The Philosopher Posted: Aug.24 at 8:52 pm
  Take a while, and think about it.

• bradley Posted: Aug.24 at 8:54 pm
  nate c has never played a minute of ball in his life, clearly. Your some old jealous white fan who never made it lol

• Jukai Posted: Aug.24 at 9:21 pm
  Brickshooting J: Dude, I don’t think Mo Williams is a good player in the slightest, but his midrange is the only reason he’s still in the league, for real.

• Ronald Posted: Aug.24 at 9:49 pm
  This always makes me wonder about Rondo’s so call great defense. But it is only an example:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng1ZGYNmBxo

• Red Posted: Aug.24 at 10:32 pm
  Derrick Rose will emerge as a top 3 PG & definitely an elite and consistent All-Star

• T-Money Posted: Aug.24 at 10:59 pm
  Jukai: Out of all the guys you mentioned, only Nash was better than D-Rose from midrange last year. D-Rose is CRAZY NICE from midrange, don’t be misled by the abysmal 3-point shooting.

• Jukai Posted: Aug.24 at 11:36 pm
  T-Money: I guess I didn’t notice it. I probably didn’t notice it cause it DIDN”T EXIST. He’s a damn good midrange shooter, but c’mon, he’s not that great.

• The Philosopher Posted: Aug.24 at 11:38 pm
  I’ve got an even BETTER Rondo comparison.
  Jerome “Pooh” Richardson.

• Mr. Robinson Posted: Aug.24 at 11:48 pm
  Philo is a beast

• Clos1881 Posted: Aug.25 at 12:38 am
  I love Rondo’s game great defender,passer,rebounder and driver he just gotta keep working on his J. As far as the NBA goes ge is easily top 5 point guards in the league, I would put him at 3. I’m kinda tired of this Fran guy over hyping all these Euro players 95 percent of whom are average/solid players in the NBA .

• EJ Posted: Aug.25 at 1:33 am
  LMAO DDB, you’re saying NBA basketball sucks. Is Euro basketball better then? Honestly, I’d rather watch WNBA than Euro basketball, and they always call fouls there.

• bashmo Posted: Aug.25 at 1:48 am
  and people have the will and urge to say he is better than chris paul..never in his life will he be Cp3 best PG in the league

• rob Posted: Aug.25 at 2:50 am
  hahaha. if cp3 and deron were around. id cut all of em and jus keep cp and deron.

• T-Money Posted: Aug.25 at 2:58 am
  Jukai: do yourself a favor, hoopdata DOT com. 43 percent on midrange jumpers last year. that’s outstanding.

• DDB Posted: Aug.25 at 7:34 am
  I’m not saying NBA basketball sucks…but they fool you into thinking some of these guys are great players. When you watched the NBA or the 80s and 90s, this league doesn’t compare. You had tough, highly skilled guys competing. Now you have soft, highly athletic guys competing. Sure, there are a handful of guys with a high level of skill but you don’t need it to be very good in the league anymore. The rules are such that you don’t need to deal with much pressure defense and it is almost impossible from inhibiting guys from getting where they want to go on the court. It’s a joke. If you were allowed to defend in the NBA like you are at every other level of basketball, (HS, College, Euro) games would be scored in the 60s. Guys just aren’t tough/skilled enough on the whole to score against tough defense. Just look at the trouble they have had scoring in international play over the past 10 years? Just this past weekend this team struggled to score in the halfcourt against a team that was inferior athletically (Lithuania). Imagine if there were 5 NBA level athletes defending that way, these guys wouldn’t be able to score. The high screen and roll is almost indefensible at the NBA level (especially with guys quick like Wade, Rondo, CP3). You can’t hedge the screen the way you are allowed to at most levels because they call a foul in the league. So, you see huge gaps where these guys get in the lane and either have a layup or a kick out for a wide open J. This is a creation of the league out of necessity to entertain. Because hey, wide open play with a ton of dunks and all wide open jumpers sells tickets.

• jufu Posted: Aug.25 at 8:02 am
  Javy: you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. First of all, Rondo backed out for family reasons, he wasn’t cut. Second point is that he’s probably the fastest dude in the L, and its best non-bigman defender. Shut your trap and do your homework before you bash anyone.

• ClydeSays Posted: Aug.25 at 8:56 am
  Rondo’s game isn’t tailor-made for FIBA. He’s a defender/play-maker. Rose, Billups and Westbrook are capable passers and primarily scorers. If/once Rondo starts knocking down even mid-range jumpers at a decent clip, in Popovich’s words “He’ll be unguardable…”

• Ronald Posted: Aug.25 at 9:46 am
  @Jufu: Heh, fastest and best defender (guard) in the league? Heh. Didn’t a 36 year old washed up point guard grab the rebound, blow by him and his team for a the most important layup in a game? heh.

• Kap Posted: Aug.25 at 9:52 am
  I’m sorry but you guys are overrating D-Rose. The kid is good but he’s not the best guard on the team. I especially don’t think he will be a top 3 pg next year with Nash, Billups, Paul, and Williams still in the game. Quit hating on Rondo, the guy is great. He just can’t shoot worth a damn.

• Boston_Blogg3r Posted: Aug.25 at 10:25 am
  Rondo’s ego is fragile and the way that Doc Rivers handles him, when I can only imagine any critique of his game is like walking on egg shells, is a testament to the Celtics coach’s brilliance. Funny thing is, every off-season, this kid gets a major wake-up call but his ego is so big that he walks around like HE is why Banner 17 was raised. Sadly, the Celtics haven’t won anything with Rondo as the top guy. Last year, he almost gets traded and then extension negotiations are pushed back by Ainge. Rondo’s ego should have been put in check, but he instead tells CHRIS PAUL that he’ll never win a Championship. This year, Rondo gets cut from Team USA months after he no-shows in the Finals and instead of taking that as a ego-check to get in the gym with Ray Allen and matching his work ethic (100 threes and free-throws each before every game), Rondo will likely just focus on his own brand of basketball where making someone fall gets you more points than putting the ball in the basket (How has that “Rondo” version of Hoop It Up NOT been featured on SlamOnline this summer?!?) Also, I still can’t believe that Rondo did what he did against Orlando where he sulked because Ray Allen didn’t pass him the ball and the “top 5″ Point Guard proceeded to take several plays off on both offense and defense. Celtics need to ship his ass out of Boston.

• Boston_Blogg3r Posted: Aug.25 at 10:31 am
  luv2ball: Jason Kidd was better in every aspect of the game than Rondo is, and I’m not talking about the Jason Kidd that led New Jersey to two straight Finals appearances. The Jason Kidd from Dallas and Phoenix had a better basketball IQ and saw the floor world’s better than Rondo. Rondo is quicker, yes. So was Marcus Banks. Now that Tony Allen is no longer around to be viewed as the Celtics’ walking turnover, I think it will become far clearer that Rondo makes terrible passes and that his turnover ratio makes Jason Williams on the Kings look more like Jason Williams on the Grizzlies.

• Javy Posted: Aug.25 at 10:43 am
  Wow, a lot of feeling are being hurt when mentioning Rondo sucks. Call it what you want, quit, cut, personal reasons…..The dude didn’t play a single minute!!!!
  Guess who will become another Rondo, Eddie House…why because he sucks but he’ll become an excelletn shooter on a team with stars. Exactly a mirror of Rondo.

• Javy Posted: Aug.25 at 10:47 am
  @Boston_Blogg3r: Thank you sr. I assume you root for the Celtic’s but understand the player that Rondo is.
  Finally somebody making sense of what lies beneath the show!!!

• Boston_Blogg3r Posted: Aug.25 at 11:02 am
  I am a die-hard Celtics fan, but I understand basketball. The fact that I can comment on Jason Williams when many will overlook that statement shows that I’m old enough to know what I’m talking about, lol. In his defense, however, I don’t think Rondo “sucks.” His game is just far below what many present it to be and from what he, himself thinks it is. Rondo, the distributor, is awesome. Rondo, the risk-taker, is terrible. Rondo, the franchise player, is non-existent.

• Shem Posted: Aug.25 at 1:49 pm
  I will hate the Celtics until the day I die, anyone that says Rondo sucks has absolutely no basketball knowledge.

• xplore Posted: Aug.31 at 4:28 pm
  HUGE LAKERS FAN BUT LOVE RONDO.
  WHEN I WAS WATCHING THAT GAME I THOUGHT I HEARD HE IS GETTING A BREAK. DUDE USA NEEDS RONDO. RONDO DOESN’T NEED TO BE EMBARRASSED AT ODOMZ RING. AND, NO, HE’S NOT IN THE BUBBLE.USA NEEDS RONDO FOR THE SECOND TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!