Rajon Rondo won’t call Willie Cauley-Stein “Trill”, it’s “Rook”
By John Buhler
Sacramento Kings point guard Rajon Rondo does not plan to recognize first-round draft pick Willie Cauley-Stein’s adopted middle name “Trill”.
The Sacramento Kings might actually be a halfway decent team in the NBA’s Western Conference this year. They have a nice mix of promising young players and veterans that could get them into the conversation for the wide-open eight-seed in the West. The problem is that the 1-4 Sacramento Kings care more about self-imposed nicknames than staying relevant in the Pacific Division.
Point guard Rajon Rondo doesn’t like rookie Willie Cauley-Stein’s “adopted” middle name of “Trill“. Cauley-Stein may have been the fifth overall selection in the 2015 NBA Draft, but Rondo may have a point of referring to him as “Rook”.
Rondo went on to say, “I’ll never call him Trill, his name is Rook.” Not only are Rondo and Cauley-Stein teammates, but they played at the same alma mater, the University of Kentucky. It would make too much sense for the veteran Rondo to take his fellow Wildcat under his wing on what it takes to become an NBA Champion. This is Sacramento after all.
Of course a person can’t give himself a nickname, so perhaps Rondo is humbling the prep star from Lexington a bit. Wouldn’t Cauley-Stein want a better given nickname than Trill anyway?
From this discontentment over self-proclaimed nicknames to DeMarcus Cousins’ daily antics to the eccentricity of owner Vivek Ranadive, this 2015-16 Sacramento Kings are likely the most watchable NBA team not certainly in the playoff mix. Regardless of the team’s talent, this could become the best reality TV show in the NBA this year: The Jester’s Court.
Head coach George Karl has won everywhere he has been as a head coach. The talent he has from Cousins, Rondo, Rudy Gay, and Ben McLemore, among others could stand as enough to push for a playoff spot if the team ever gets on the same page.
However, there is always the threat of Ranadive wanting to get his coach to play five on four basketball defensively, with one player solely trying to pick the ball off. Now that Ranadive can’t use former front office member Chris Mullin in that capacity, as he now is the head coach at his alma mater in St. John’s, don’t think for a second that newly appointed general manager Vlade Divac couldn’t fill in for a frustrated George Karl should it come to that.
For now, it’s all about humbling Willie Cauley-Stein and not recognizing his nickname, even if it was legally changed by the rookie big man out of the University of Kentucky. Exciting times in Sleep Train Arena in Northern California.