Last season, the LA Clippers made only one move at the trade deadline. Lou Williams and two second round picks were traded to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Rajon Rondo. The deal didn't seem like a needle-mover at the time. Williams was a scorer that was already on the decline on a loaded team, when healthy, but there was zero need for a guy like Rondo, at least on the basketball court.
Rajon Rondo went on to play 18 regular season games for the Clippers and actually played fairly well. He got a career-high 48.6 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from beyond the arc. The problem was the Clippers seemingly got Playoff Rondo in the regular season and Regular Season Rondo in the playoffs.
Rondo shot a career-low 34 percent from the field and also dished out a career-low 3.8 assists per game. He appeared in 13 of the Clippers 19 games, but was a huge net negative for the team in their series against the Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns.
The Clippers were a -26 in the 35 minutes Rondo played against the Jazz and a -20 in the 47 minutes Rondo played against the Phoenix Suns. Rondo also had a -28 net rating against the Jazz and a -23.6 net rating against the Phoenix Suns.
Rajon Rondo's play style was the main reason his time with the Clippers was unsuccessful. When the Clippers first acquired him, it was believed that he'd play a major role as a leader in the locker room. By all accounts, he did, but that's likely what his role should've been limited to.
"Ever since we lost Game 2, even Game 1, there's been a lot of dialogue after games trying to figure out how to be better. Once we got on the plane, talked about the game… It's been a nonstop thing, constantly on my mind personally & the team as well."
– Rajon Rondo #Clippers pic.twitter.com/Ae8rtZ5dIY
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) May 29, 2021
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue believed Rajon Rondo could be the ball handler the Clippers were missing that would take pressure off of both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, especially in the postseason when the game slowed down. As @LAClipperFilm on Twitter noted, adding a ‘playmaker' that's a literal non-threat to score the ball to a playoff team feels like a thing of the past.
During Rondo's time on the court, at least during the regular season, the ball hopped around and found guys consistently. Rajon Rondo saw a +9.0 net rating during the regular season, but a -6.4 net rating during the playoffs.
In the postseason, mostly following the injury to Kawhi Leonard, it appeared as though Rondo tried to play what some on NBA Twitter like to call ‘traffic cop offense.' He'd hold the ball on the perimeter for a good chunk of the shot clock while directing guys on the floor and telling them where to go. Unfortunately, it often resulted in a 3-point attempt or a wild driving layup attempt from the two-time NBA Champion.
There were times during the postseason, especially with the schedule the team was given, that Paul George and Reggie Jackson were visibly worn down and needed a break from bringing the ball up the court every single possession. Rondo tried to help from that aspect, but too many turnovers and ill-advised shots quickly landed him back on the bench.
The Rajon Rondo experiment was simply unsuccessful, and many could've seen it coming even before the Clippers traded two second round picks with Lou Williams for him. The need for a ball-dominant guard like him simply wasn't there, and if it something of the sort was needed, Lou Williams was right there and had a much better postseason albeit in spurts.
Now the Clippers move on, having traded Rondo along with Patrick Beverley and Daniel Oturu to the Memphis Grizzlies for Eric Bledsoe. Bledsoe gives the Clippers a downhill threat and someone who can create for others without being a ball-stopper and massive liability on the defensive end.
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