© John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Rajon Rondo claims chemistry was off when he played for the Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls assembled an intriguing "Big 3" in 2016 when they signed former NBA champs Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade to team up with resident star Jimmy Butler. The partnership looked good on paper. After all, Rondo and Wade brought championship pedigree, and Butler was establishing himself as a rising star in the NBA. Despite that, the Bulls failed to make it out of the first round of the playoffs that season, and Rondo believes the disconnect between the team's veterans and the young guns was a significant factor in their downfall.
Gap between vets and youngsters
Team chemistry is an underrated ingredient of team success. In that season, the Bulls featured a mix of seasoned veterans and young guns who were eager to make a name for themselves in the Association. Combined, Butler and Wade had 23 years of NBA experience between them, but the rest of the roster was nowhere near that.
The combination of the two age groups caused tension between the veterans and the youngsters on the team, as both sides were eager to contribute to the team's success but often had difficulty understanding each other. Rondo believes this gap between experience levels led to a lack of connection that eventually impacted the Bulls' performance.
"Chemistry, it wasn't there. Jimmy and D-Wade, they kind of were on their own. As far as I guess even in practice, even off the court," Rondo said.
Writing was on the wall
While the Bulls' season made it to the NBA Playoffs and exited with a first-round loss to the top-seeded Boston Celtics, the writing was clearly on the wall as early as January 2017, when Rondo, Wade, and Butler were all disciplined for harshly criticizing the efforts of the team's younger players.
"Like again, every team is different, there's nothing wrong with that," Rondo said. "But there wasn't really a connect between the old guys and the young. And that was why it was so much friction throughout the year."
