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Rajon Rondo and Rick Carlisle were supposed to bring out the best in one another.
A savant, championship-winning point guard, paired with a cerebral, offensive-minded coach with hardware of his own. When the Dallas Mavericks acquired Rondo before the 2015 trade deadline, the move was expected to put Dallas closer to championship contention and earn the two brilliant minds another trophy. Except what followed was a drama-fueled relationship that imploded almost immediately, leaving a ton of beef.
A savant, championship-winning point guard, paired with a cerebral, offensive-minded coach with hardware of his own. When the Dallas Mavericks acquired Rondo before the 2015 trade deadline, the move was expected to put Dallas closer to championship contention and earn the two brilliant minds another trophy. Except what followed was a drama-fueled relationship that imploded almost immediately, leaving a ton of beef.
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00:00Rajon Rondo and Rick Carlisle were supposed to bring out the best in one another,
00:04a savant championship-winning point guard paired with a cerebral offensive-minded coach
00:09with hardware of his own.
00:11When the Dallas Mavericks acquired Rondo before the 2015 trade deadline,
00:15the move was expected to put Dallas closer to championship contention
00:19and earn the two brilliant minds another trophy.
00:22Except what followed was a drama-fueled relationship that imploded almost immediately,
00:28leaving a ton of beef.
00:34It's not the least bit surprising that beef burned between Rick Carlisle and Rajon Rondo.
00:39In a way, the two dudes are strikingly similar.
00:43Genius is often attached to both of their names.
00:46It's also important to stress that they're both often tagged with this label.
00:51I'll let you read the screen,
00:52because you guys don't like it when I say bad words to emphasize my points.
00:57So, how did we get here?
01:01Before becoming a head coach, Carlisle spent years as an assistant,
01:05most notably under Larry Bird with the Indiana Pacers,
01:08where he was recognized as an offensive mastermind.
01:11When Bird stepped down following the 99-2000 season,
01:15Carlisle seemed like the obvious successor,
01:17but to put it nicely, his vibes were off.
01:20Gaining a head coaching gig isn't solely a popularity contest,
01:25but it doesn't help if this was a consensus report about your character.
01:29See? I was nice.
01:31Anyway, with his unique ability to craft offenses,
01:35Carlisle ultimately earned lead roles with the Detroit Pistons and later returned to Indy.
01:40At both stops, Carlisle turned teams into winners,
01:44with conference finals appearances and even a Coach of the Year award.
01:48Yet, he wore out his welcome in both destinations,
01:52clashing with at least one player or management altogether.
01:56Known for a my way or the highway approach,
02:00Carlisle often alienated his players struggling to connect with them,
02:04something he ultimately admitted to after getting canned in Indy.
02:08We love a self-aware king.
02:11However, more than just his attitude,
02:14his offensive philosophy rubbed folks the wrong way.
02:17He preferred a slow-paced, deliberate style of play,
02:20calling plays on nearly every possession.
02:23A.K.A. a control freak.
02:25In Indy, point guard Jamal Tinsley notably grew fed up with being forced to slow the tempo
02:30after growing accustomed to a more free-flowing pace under previous coaches.
02:35Wait, Rondo plays point guard.
02:38The young guard first hit the league with the Boston Celtics during the 06-07 season,
02:42Carlisle's final year in Indiana.
02:45Rondo brought the same high IQ for the game that made him indispensable in high school
02:50and at the University of Kentucky under legendary coach Tubby Smith,
02:54even if that also meant running his mouth and challenging authority.
02:59With the Celtics, Rondo ascended quickly,
03:02quarterbacking the squad of future first ballot Hall of Famers,
03:05winning a title in just his second season.
03:07However, his unparalleled ability to see the game from a high level
03:12also made him a headache to coach
03:14as he constantly clashed with Celtics coach Doc Rivers
03:18and repeatedly found himself in the midst of trade rumors.
03:22Rondo didn't necessarily think he was difficult to coach.
03:26He just knew he wouldn't back down if he thought he had a better solution.
03:29A not-as-self-aware king, but we still love him.
03:33Ultimately, the Seas never moved Rondo ASAP because despite being a nuisance,
03:39as the rest of his supporting cast aged,
03:42Boston was preparing to make Rondo his franchise cornerstone.
03:46Until they did.
03:47Midway through the 2014-15 season,
03:50Boston shipped Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks
03:53in a blockbuster move aimed at pairing a stubborn,
03:56veteran point guard with Rick Carlisle,
03:59who, after being fired by the Pacers, found ultimate success in Dallas.
04:05Pairing two known combative dudes sounds like a recipe for disaster,
04:10but Dallas had a precedent.
04:12When Carlisle arrived in Dallas during the 08-09 season,
04:15he inherited a team with veteran Jason Kidd,
04:18another headstrong, ball-dominant point guard
04:20who had his fair share of beef with coaches.
04:23While Carlisle and Kidd's issues never reached grabby headlines,
04:27they butted heads early on over pace and offensive control.
04:31Kidd preferred pushing the tempo.
04:33Carlisle wanted control to set up plays.
04:36Carlisle eventually adjusted, giving Kidd more freedom,
04:40and the compromise paid off incredibly
04:42as they finished their third season together as champions.
04:46Carlisle would have never switched up for the better
04:49if it weren't for Kidd.
04:50That championship chemistry shaped the Rondo trade.
04:53Mavericks owner Mark Cuban openly gushed about Rondo,
04:57comparing him to Kidd,
04:58seeing that potential risk could produce the same payoff.
05:01Although, league whispers suggested Carlisle wasn't fully sold.
05:07Still, the deal was done,
05:09leaving Rondo and Carlisle to find out
05:11whether history would repeat itself.
05:14Early signs weren't promising.
05:17Just 17 games into a stint with the Mavs,
05:21Carlisle benched Rondo for the final five minutes of a fourth quarter
05:25in a matchup against the Chicago Bulls.
05:27Carlisle simply labeled it as a coach's decision.
05:31However, when journalists pressed for further explanation,
05:35especially considering days prior,
05:37Carlisle had just praised Rondo's performance in clutch spots,
05:42the coach wasn't having it.
05:44Rondo seemed to take the benching in stride.
05:46He had faith in Carlisle
05:48and wasn't going to let five minutes of playing time shake his confidence.
05:53For a dude that's been known to be of very few words throughout his career,
05:57Rondo giving a resounding trust in his coach
05:59seemed to be a positive sign moving forward.
06:03Except, it's maybe a bit difficult to keep that outlook
06:07when the team turns in mid-performances
06:10and journalists look to you for the blame.
06:12A few weeks after the benching,
06:14the Mavs fell in a lopsided loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder
06:18where Rondo looked dreadful.
06:20Post-game, when questioned about his fit within the Mavs' offense,
06:24Rondo seemed much more defensive,
06:26saying Carlisle calls the plays
06:28and he just follows orders.
06:30But outside of their perceived digs in the press,
06:33the two spoke glowingly about how the relationship was starting to bloom.
06:37It had the makings of a slow burn similar to Carlisle and Kidd
06:41and we know how that ended.
06:43Another championship is on the way.
06:47Nothing to worry about here.
06:49Don't think I've ever been able to tell someone's anger
06:53strictly from the back of their head,
06:55but just look at those creases in his neck as he barks at Rondo.
07:00Maybe everything wasn't so smooth.
07:03Early in the third quarter of a February matchup
07:06against the Toronto Raptors,
07:07it looked as if Carlisle tried calling a play.
07:11Rondo blew him off,
07:13leaving the coach to stump out damn near half-court
07:16to call a timeout.
07:18As Rondo walked back to the bench,
07:20the two exchanged pleasantries
07:22and Rondo was ultimately pulled for the rest of the game.
07:26Post-game, Carlisle downplayed the incident.
07:30Rondo didn't have much to say either.
07:33It seemed as if no one in the Mavs organization
07:35thought it was a big deal.
07:38Which kind of went against later reports
07:41that Carlisle and Rondo's exchange
07:43carried over into the locker room
07:45and the team ultimately suspended Rondo for one game.
07:49Sources within the franchise stated
07:51the friction between the two
07:53had been bubbling over play-calling responsibilities.
07:56Hmm, sounds familiar.
08:00Anyway, after the suspension,
08:03it seemed like the two just wanted to keep it pushing.
08:05When Rondo returned,
08:07Carlisle made a point to emphasize to the media
08:10his point guard's importance to the team's title hopes.
08:12And as a coach,
08:14it was his responsibility to put Rondo in right situations.
08:18Rondo knew he acted out of line
08:20and responded out of anger
08:22to his performances throughout the season.
08:24But the most important thing
08:25was getting back to proper communication with Carlisle.
08:29Plus, Rondo wasn't new to this.
08:32Wonder if that was a menacing chuckle.
08:35The two believed any animosity they had was gone
08:38and they were prepared to get back to chasing a title.
08:41However, their chances for a ring didn't look so high.
08:46While there was no more visible beef between the two,
08:49the conversation in the media again shifted to,
08:52wow, this team looks kind of trash with Rondo
08:56as Dallas ultimately limped into the playoffs.
08:59In the past,
09:01Rondo had been known to elevate his play
09:03in the postseason when it mattered most.
09:05So maybe the Mavericks were still in store
09:08for a special run.
09:10Nah.
09:12Rondo was embarrassingly terrible
09:14in Dallas's first round exit
09:16against the Houston Rockets.
09:18But game two of that series
09:20seemed to seal his fate with the franchise.
09:23Rondo played a total of 34 seconds in the second half
09:27before hitting the bench for the remainder of the game.
09:30For a championship veteran
09:32who knows what it takes to win in the playoffs,
09:35Rondo looked totally checked out.
09:38Following the matchup,
09:39Carlisle leaned on this tried and true statement
09:42calling Rondo's benching a coach's decision.
09:46When asked specifically
09:47about his point guard's uninspiring performance,
09:50Carlisle said those questions
09:51needed to be directed to Rondo.
09:53Which weren't going to be answered
09:56as Rondo purposely ducked the media.
09:59However, the following day,
10:02the public at large gained some insight
10:04when Dallas issued a press release
10:06stating Rondo had suffered a back injury
10:08and was shut down indefinitely.
10:11Journalists called cap.
10:13Carlisle hastily tried to clear the air
10:15before game three,
10:16aware of people's suspicions.
10:18If Rondo was hurt,
10:21why not mention it ASAP?
10:22He attempted to further explain the situation,
10:26but with Rondo hitting free agency in the summer,
10:29he didn't mince his words
10:30when questioned about his future with the franchise.
10:33For Carlisle,
10:35the entire blueprint of trying to replicate
10:36the relationship he had with Kidd
10:38was bound to fail from the onset with Rondo.
10:41In a separate interview with ESPN's Tim McMahon,
10:45Carlisle detailed that Kidd and Rondo
10:47were vastly different players,
10:49and while there were some similarities,
10:52the differences between the two were too extreme.
10:55Sure, they were both extremely gifted point guards
10:58who could see the floor better than anyone,
11:00but outside of that,
11:02they had totally different bags.
11:04By the time Kidd joined the Mavs,
11:07he developed into a dangerous sniper from three,
11:10forcing defenses to drift out,
11:11while teams happily left Rondo open,
11:14daring him to shoot.
11:16But for Carlisle,
11:17the biggest differences between the two
11:19were their pace preferences.
11:21With Kidd,
11:22Carlisle learned the importance
11:23of playing an up-tempo offense,
11:26abandoning his past traits of calling plays
11:28on every single possession.
11:31Rondo was accustomed to walking the ball up the court.
11:34For the coach,
11:35attempting to switch up Rondo's pace
11:37smack dab in the middle of the season
11:40was an impossible task.
11:41The February incident of Rondo
11:43slowly bringing the ball up the court,
11:45while Carlisle exploded
11:47trying to get him to push the pace,
11:49was the culmination of the two's frustrations
11:52with each other boiling over into the public.
11:54The following season,
11:56with Rondo now in the Sacramento Kings,
11:59Carlisle spoke reflectively
12:00about their past half-year together,
12:03doubling down,
12:04saying they gave it their best shot,
12:06but it was a move that both sides
12:08clearly should have avoided.
12:10The coach also all but confirmed earlier rumors
12:13that he never wanted Rondo in the first place,
12:16saying it was a trade that Dirk strongly pressed for.
12:19Woof.
12:21Rondo mostly remained quiet in the years
12:23following his Mavs departure,
12:25agreeing with his former coach
12:27that their connection wasn't for a lack of effort,
12:29but when budding superstar point guard Tyrese Halliburton
12:34was traded to the Pacers during the 21-22 season,
12:37a team that Carlisle was coaching yet again,
12:41Halliburton claimed Rondo gave him a fair warning
12:44about the coach's play style.
12:46It wasn't until 2023,
12:49eight years removed from his days with the Mavs,
12:52that Rondo spoke his true peace
12:55about his relationship with Carlisle.
12:57During a podcast appearance
12:58with his former Dallas teammate Chandler Parsons,
13:02Rondo provided more context in their infamous blowup
13:04and felt that Carlisle treated him
13:07like some inexperienced rookie,
13:09never allowing him to play
13:10the way the front office pitched him on.
13:12When I was brought to Dallas,
13:14you know, they told me,
13:15they was like, we want you to be J-Kid,
13:16we want you to be, you know, vocal,
13:18we want you to run offense,
13:19I'm a champion at the same time,
13:20you know, I give you a lot of respect,
13:21I came in here out and say shit.
13:23And then for you to come at me like I'm a,
13:25you know, a young player, a rookie,
13:26that know what the fuck he's talking about
13:27or what he's doing or how to manage the game,
13:29that's disrespectful on top of
13:31what you all brought me here to do
13:32and what I was told,
13:33how you all wanted me to perform
13:35as a point guard on this unit.
13:37Well, damn.
13:38He later said the PR release
13:40about his back injury
13:41was a BS ploy the Mavs use,
13:44when in reality,
13:44he had been informed
13:46that Carlisle no longer wanted to coach him.
13:48The narrative was,
13:50oh, he quit on the team,
13:51like them motherfuckers said,
13:52Rick doesn't want to coach you
13:53with Donnie Nelson on the phone
13:54and Gil Duffy.
13:55So it's like, okay, fuck it,
13:57but I don't want to play for Rick.
13:58You know what I mean?
13:58Like he's spinning his nerve,
13:59we're going to just say your back hurts
14:00and that'll be it.
14:01I'm never quitting anything in life.
14:02So this whole shit
14:04that y'all spinning around me,
14:05I'm going to take the booze,
14:06I'm going to eat this shit
14:06for the rest of my career
14:07because I don't want to say much,
14:08but at the same time,
14:09that's not how it went.
14:10For a guy who rarely spoke
14:11during his career,
14:13it's quite clear Rondo
14:14had a lot to get off his chest.
14:19Or maybe the extent of this beef
14:20was just the two getting off
14:22on a hilariously bad start
14:24from the beginning.
14:24But that was that.
14:27Two hard-headed guys
14:28sold on a dream
14:29to win a championship
14:30rooted in their previous
14:32unique relationship.
14:34Rondo might've bought the tail
14:35from ownership,
14:36but Carlisle seemed to be
14:38iffy from the jump
14:39in a pairing that lasted
14:40less than a full calendar year,
14:43but produced bountiful beef.
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