In a entertaining and wide-ranging interview with Yahoo Sport — Rajon Rondo confirmed that he’s still very much open to re-signing with the Dallas Mavericks.
“People say I’m not trying to be here, but I don’t talk to anybody but the five people that are in my circle,” Rondo said. “I will vent to them about where I want to be. I’m happy. I’m in a great situation. The best thing is the weather. I miss my kids. I miss my family. That’s hard, as well not having them and you come home after playing a bad game. They are always there to cheer you up. That’s been difficult.
So you are open-minded to re-signing with Dallas?
Rondo: “Why would I not be? There are a lot of things that I really love. Even the practices, we listen to music, my type of music.
“It’s a player’s organization. Players first, from our plane, the way we travel. I don’t take that for granted. We eat good. We stay at the best hotels. Of course, it’s the NBA. But this organization has the best. They have PlayStation in the lockers. I don’t play games, but it’s nice to know I got a PlayStation. TVs in your own locker. I heard about it – [Brandon Bass] and J-Terry [Jason Terry] told me – but seeing it and experiencing it.
“I haven’t had a change of heart about wanting to be here. But I said that in Boston, too, and look what happened.”
Rondo addressed his relationship with Rick Carlisle and every coached that he’s ever played for — describing his relationships as misunderstood, but all love.
“The situation happened and everyone was like, ‘Oh, he doesn’t want to be here now.’ I get into it with all my coaches. It goes back to [Oak Hill Academy coach] Steve Smith, [his former Kentucky coach] Tubby Smith. It’s actually funny. The day me and Rick had an altercation, Tubby came in our locker room and kind of surprised me. Me and Tubby used to get into it and he says I’m his favorite player he ever coached.
“[Louisville Eastern High coach Doug] Bibby and I used to get into it all the time. He benched me like 20 times. He’s my mentor and now we talk every day. I still call [his former Boston Celtics coach] Doc [Rivers] for advice every once in a while. It’s part of it. Its just life. It’s like a marriage. You are not always going to like your wife, you are going to have your arguments, but you are not going to throw in the towel.
“I’m on [television] like I committed a crime. Two men had a disagreement. Obviously, we didn’t handle it the right way. Obviously, regardless of how it goes down it’s always going to be the player’s fault, and I took responsibility. But it’s a two-way street and we’re moving on from that.”
