Rajon Rondo has been out of the NBA for two full seasons now, but many of his former coaches and teammates are still active in the association. That includes his former Dallas Mavericks head coach, Rick Carlisle, whose Indiana Pacers were recently swept out of the Eastern Conference Finals by the Boston Celtics.
But back in 2014, Rondo joined the Mavericks after being traded from Boston, where Carlisle was in his seventh season with Dallas. The Mavs were fresh off a 49-win season and were only three years removed from their 2011 NBA Championship.
Meanwhile, Rondo was in the midst of his ninth season in the NBA and ready to join a contender that was ready to compete for another championship. Yet, that’s not what happened.
Instead, Rondo and Carlisle began to butt heads, before the coach benched him during their playoff run and told the two-time champion that he’d never suit up for Dallas again. He was right (about Rondo being done in Dallas), but Rondo felt wronged, especially since Coach Carlisle lied, telling everyone that the 28-year-old had a back injury and that he essentially quit on his teammates.
Here’s Rondo breaking it all down during his appearance on FanDuel’s Run It Back.
“They’re like, [Rick Carlisle] doesn’t want to coach you anymore, so we’re going to say your back is hurting and you’re done playing.” “That’s why when I go back to Dallas, every time I get boo’d like it’s if I quit on the organization… I’ve never quit on anything in life.”
Rajon Rondo recalling what went wrong during Dallas Mavericks tenure under Rick Carlisle
That’s a tough way to end your season, being forced out by the coaching staff after starting all 46 regular season games he appeared in during the 2014-15 season. But after those first two playoff starts, Rondo never saw the floor in a Mavericks uniform again. The Rockets proceeded to eliminate the Mavs 4-1 and Rondo moved onto the Sacramento Kings in the summer.
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