Rajon Rondo non-committal to Dallas Mavericks

It was a little more than two weeks ago when Rajon Rondo was traded by the Boston Celtics to the Dallas Mavericks. As free agency looms, Rondo is decidedly non-committal.

The vagaries of the NBA schedule being what they are, it didn’t take long for longtime Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo to return to The Hub—16 days in fact.

Rondo was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 18 along with forward Dwight Powell for forwards Jae Crowder and Brandan Wright, guard Jameer Nelson, a conditional 2015 first-round pick, a 2016 second-rounder and a $13 million trade exception.

In the final year of his contract, Rondo told USA Today that he wasn’t really thinking about free agency and said the Mavs would have as good a chance as anyone of signing him in July.

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“My focus has been basketball, basketball, basketball, not necessarily being a free agent,” Rondo said. “I mean obviously I think (Dallas will) have the upside (in free agency).

“I wouldn’t say it’s wide open (in terms of considering other teams), but I wouldn’t say it’s closed (solely to Dallas) either because obviously they are the team that came and got me and from Day One they’ve been very loyal and very supportive in this transition for me.”

The Mavericks play the Celtics at TD Garden Friday night and Boston will face a Rondo who has been better since the trade.

In six games for Dallas, Rondo is averaging 13.2 points, 7.8 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 32.3 minutes per game on .429/.375/.400 shooting (yes, 40 percent from the free throw line, yikes).

Dec 8, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens speaks with guard Rajon Rondo (9) during the first quarter against the Washington Wizards at Verizon Center. Rondo never seemed like a great fit with a rebuilding Celtics club. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

He played in 22 games for the C’s before the deal and averaged 8.3 points, 10.8 assists, 7.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 31.8 minutes per game on a shooting line of .405/.250/.333.

On the downside, you have to just love a point guard who can’t shoot free throws because, you know, the guy won’t ever have the ball in his hands in late-game situations.

Dallas, of course, doesn’t make the trade if they don’t think there’s at least a chance they can keep him going forward.

But it was also less than a month ago that Rondo was making headlines for having breakfast in Boston with Kobe Bryant, which heated up a news cycle or two of Rondo-to-Los Angeles Lakers talk.

Rondo was the 21st pick out of Kentucky in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns and was immediately traded to the Celtics.

He was known as a playmaking point guard who couldn’t shoot a lick from outside the paint.

Now in his ninth season, Rondo is a playmaking point guard who can’t shoot a lick from outside the paint. But he’s a four-time All-Star who directed the Celtics to their NBA-record 17th championship in 2007-08.

He seems to be fully healthy for the first time since tearing his ACL in a game at Atlanta in January 2013, which ended his 2012-13 season after 38 games and cut his 2013-14 season to just 30 games.

It’s not Derrick Rose, but he’s a guy who has played in just 96 games over the last 2½ seasons, and his free-throw shooting touch has absolutely evaporated.

However, he might be the most pass-first point guard the NBA has seen, at least at an elite level, since John Stockton. And with Dallas having actual weapons to get the ball to in Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons and Monta Ellis, the Mavericks might be capable of making some postseason noise for the first time since their 2011 title run.

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