Rajon Rondo Reveals Why His Tenure With The Dallas Mavericks Turned Sour

Rondo's brief tenure in Dallas was rocky but he's added some clarity to the situation

Apr 18, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Rajon Rondo (9) and Houston Rockets guard Corey Brewer (33) in game one of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Mavericks acquired star point guard Rajon Rondo in a trade from the Boston Celtics over nine years ago, but his tenure lasted just 46 games as he wore out his welcome and was sent away from the team during the Playoffs. He constantly clashed with then-head coach Rick Carlisle and picked up weird fouls and 8-second violations that were out of character for a player as smart as Rondo.

On Tuesday morning, Rondo appeared on FanDuelTV's Run It Back podcast with Michelle Beadle, Shams Charania, Lou Williams, and former Maverick Chandler Parsons and was asked about his tenure in Dallas and the disconnect with Carlisle by Parsons.

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.@RajonRondo breaks down his disconnect with coach Rick Carlisle 👀🗣️ pic.twitter.com/F8or856e0c

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) May 28, 2024

"When I was brought to Dallas," Rondo started, "they told me 'We want you to be (Jason) Kidd, we want you to be vocal, we want you to run this offense, we want you to do your thing as far as quarterbacking a team.' And I'm like 'I can't be J-Kidd, I can be myself, but we have a lot of great similarities...' I get there a couple months in, you're (Parsons) there, Monta (Ellis) is there... the first month I'm there, I'm just trying to sit back and learn, I'm a sponge, I'm trying to figure out Rick's coaching styles, I'm trying to figure out where does Dirk (Nowitzki) like that ball, where does (Parsons) like the ball, where does Monta like the ball... I try to figure out what Rick wants from us as a team and then that one particular game, in my mind I'm manipulating the games, so I know Dirk, he had a couple buckets on one side of the floor so I try to flip the play to the other side and that's where Rick was like 'What the (expletive) are you doing?' and I'm like 'I'm thinking this is Kevin Garnett,' you go two plays on one side of the floor, let's go opposite side and we're gonna get an easier bucket for Dirk. And (Rick) starts stomping... on the floor and as a man, it's like 'You're disrespectful, my man, I'm a champion at the same time, I give you a lot of respect, I came here and I didn't say (expletive), then for you to come at me like I'm a young player or rookie... that's disrespectful on top of what y'all brought me here to do.'"

He then would go on to say that Coach Carlisle didn't want to coach him anymore, referencing the playoffs against the Houston Rockets.

“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.”

-… https://t.co/zuj4VVlThp pic.twitter.com/jEmMDxXzjn

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) May 28, 2024

"I made a play or something, didn't get the ball up the court in the violation time," Rondo continued. "And at that time people are like 'Oh, he quit on the team,' and I'm like 'How the (expletive) I quit on the team, that's never been in my DNA?'... What happened in Dallas and the end of the season that year, I had a call with (former Mavericks GM) Donnie Nelson, Rick Carlisle, and (agent Bill Duffy) and they're like 'Rick doesn't want to coach you anymore, so we're gonna say your back is hurting and you're done playing.' I said, 'Okay, (expletive) it' and I shot to Miami and I just kind of laid low and chilled there. So the narrative was 'Oh he quit on the team,' like (they) said 'Rick doesn't want to coach you.'"

The Mavericks lost that series to the Rockets in five games as Rondo only played in the first two games. According to ESPN following the series, the team opted to not give Rondo his playoff share of the money. The players vote on who gets the money, but they were handed a list of players to get playoff shares, one that didn't include Rondo, and reportedly no one objected.

Rondo had been acquired along with Dwight Powell, who is still on the team as the longest-tenured Maverick, for Jameer Nelson, Jae Crowder, Brandan Wright, a 2016 first-round pick (who became Guerschon Yabusele), and a 2016 second-round pick (Demetrius Jackson). The Mavericks felt they were close to being able to push for a championship and that Rondo could be the missing piece as he helped guide the 2008 Boston Celtics to a title alongside Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen.

There are two sides to every story and I'm sure Carlisle has his own version of what happened as well, but this is the first time Rondo has really spoken out about how things ended in Dallas. Carlisle, Nelson, and the franchise went their separate ways following the 2021 season and Carlisle moved back to the Indiana Pacers, while Dallas hired the former guard the Mavs wanted Rondo to be, Jason Kidd.

Kidd currently has the Mavs sitting one game away from the NBA Finals to face Rondo's main former team, the Celtics, with Game 4 against the Timberwolves starting tonight at 7:30 p.m. CST.

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