Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 at 1:10 pm  |  101 responses

UPDATE: Rajon Rondo Withdraws from Team USA

UPDATE: Rajon Rondo withdrew from the US national team on Tuesday, citing family obligations: “‘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.”

Looks like Rajon’s fears (below) were well founded. Yahoo! reports that he’s been cut from the Team USA roster: “Team USA announces it cuts Celtics guard Rajon Rondo from World Championship roster. Rondo didn’t play in last exhibition in Spain.”

Rondo tells ESPN that he’s a bit nervous about not making the squad: “Somebody is going to get cut from Team USA after Wednesday night’s exhibition game against Greece, and Rajon Rondo has no illusions about where he stands. ‘I think I’m on the bubble,’ Rondo said Tuesday. ‘Just looking at the obvious — I got a DNP last game. That pretty much speaks for itself.’ After losing his job as the starting point guard to Derrick Rose last weekend in Madrid, Rondo’s stock has fallen to the point where it now appears he is third on the point guard depth chart behind Rose and Russell Westbrook.”

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  • http://google c_cantrell

    ^MVPballer..
    im saying this on behalf of everyone else on this site.. your an idiot

  • SpaceJam

    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

    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

    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.

  • http://www.stonesthrow.com Michael NZ

    Face saving move.

  • http://kb24.com Bigi

    Hmmmmmmm…

  • Tyler

    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

    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

    When were we EVER comparing D “GOT GAME!” ROSE to that other guy that couldn’t throw a pebble into the Pacific ocean?!

  • http://www.shawnkemp.com Masr

    How is Nash not “Rondo Caliber?” Give me three good reasons nash is not better then rondo.

  • http://www.twitter.com/TheDiesel Anton

    Rondo taking his talents to his living room?

  • Chi-Town Stand Up

    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

    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

    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

  • http://fdsjklf.com Jukai

    Anton never fails with the hysterical zingers

  • JTaylor21

    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.

  • http://fdsjklf.com Jukai

    Chi-Town: Uh… Steve Nash? Deron Williams? Jameer Nelson? Mo Williams?

  • Brickshooting J

    @ Jukai: I would assume you didn’t really mean to write ‘Mo Williams’, did you?

  • The Philosopher

    Rajon Rondo = Taliek Brown with athletcism x 2.
    Rondo is what Brown could have been had he made The League.

  • T-Money

    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

    @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

    Take a while, and think about it.

  • bradley

    nate c has never played a minute of ball in his life, clearly. Your some old jealous white fan who never made it lol

  • http://fdsjklf.com Jukai

    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

    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

    Derrick Rose will emerge as a top 3 PG & definitely an elite and consistent All-Star

  • T-Money

    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.

  • http://sfjdkldsfl.com Jukai

    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

    I’ve got an even BETTER Rondo comparison.
    Jerome “Pooh” Richardson.

  • Mr. Robinson

    Philo is a beast

  • Clos1881

    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

    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

    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

    hahaha. if cp3 and deron were around. id cut all of em and jus keep cp and deron.

  • T-Money

    Jukai: do yourself a favor, hoopdata DOT com. 43 percent on midrange jumpers last year. that’s outstanding.

  • DDB

    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

    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

    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

    @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.

  • http://slamonline.com Kap

    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.

  • http://thosefishtacosarethetits.blogspot.com Boston_Blogg3r

    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.

  • http://thosefishtacosarethetits.blogspot.com Boston_Blogg3r

    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

    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

    @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!!!

  • http://thosefishtacosarethetits.blogspot.com Boston_Blogg3r

    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

    I will hate the Celtics until the day I die, anyone that says Rondo sucks has absolutely no basketball knowledge.

  • xplore

    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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Pingback: Rajon Rondo Has No Interest in Ever Playing in the Olympics | Rajon Rondo Jersey

  • Mack

    If you have the nerve to say Rondo sucks you shouldn’t be allowed talk basketball. You’re officially entering Skip Bayless territory; and to those that said Rondo’s got an ego problem and Doc keeps him under control, the Celtics wouldn’t be anywhere without this guy and he’s not changing teams anytime soon, Doc even said he’s the smartest player he ever coached. And saying Rondo would be mediocre on another team? SMFH you must be blind.

  • Basketball_iQ

    I dont even know what to say… The comments when I come here are so far off, I cant believe it! Rondo sucks?! Rondo is top 3 in this league as far as PG’s go. CP3, Dwill, Rondo… those other dudes: Rose/Westbrook only worry about themselves and have the mental apptitude to get “others involved.” I mean seriously, how many trpl-dbl’s have they put up?? Okay, too hard? Combined they dont have as many as Rondo. Those two couldnt get 20assists in a game versus middle-schoolers. straight like dat.

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