Rondo retires

[samwana]

He officially retires. Can we please add him to our coaching staff for x's and o's? And of course to replace BD Ehen we finally get rid of him. IMO Rondo is gojng to be an awesome coach. I want him to be that with us.

[Bullflip]

He should go into coaching, I agree. Got a high IQ. I remember we were up 2-0 on the Celtics before Rondo got hurt and we lost the series

[step]

Rajon Rondo has announced his retirement from the NBA after 16 seasons.

During an appearance on the "All the Smoke" podcast, Matt Barnes asked Rondo if he was done in the NBA.

"Absolutely," said Rondo. "Yeah, I'm done. I can't. I'd rather spend time with my kids."

I guess that counts as an official statement now right?
I think he's enjoying the time off for now... coaching may be something he considers in the future.

Though reading ESPN's piece:

Rondo is scheduled to stand trial on April 25 in Jackson County, Indiana, on a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm as well as misdemeanor drug paraphernalia and marijuana charges. In February, he rejected a plea agreement offer from prosecutors. His attorneys have since argued that the gun charge should be dismissed because it violates Rondo's Second Amendment rights.

[League Circles]

Rondo became one of my favorites with the Bulls. Now one of my favorite modern era non Bulls overall, though hated him with the Celtics.

One of the toughest and purest of PGs in the modern era. A type of player style I've never valued a lot, but have grown to appreciate. Maybe it's cause the Bulls have never had a guy like him at least since before Jordan if ever.

[SearsTower]

Hinrich is probably my favorite post-Jordan Bull so I was never a fan of Rondo since their dust up in the playoffs. But he really won me over when he signed here. I really quite enjoyed watching him play. Very cerebral, tough, unique style. Head on a swivel and the ultimate pass first PG. Really fun to watch. Cheers to a great career.

[Kurt Heimlich]

Kirk bouncing like Ali toward Rondo in that absolutely epic, all time great Bulls series in 09 is one of my favorite moments.

While ill fated, looking back those 2017 "3 alpha's" Bulls were the last relevant team we've really had. And another all time favorite NBA moment of mine was getting insane game 6 seats of that 2017 series between us and Boston and I was courtside on the Celtics end and turned out to be sitting by the Celtics owner and Danny Ainge. Still have the ticket and official scorer's report Wyc (Celtics owner) gave to me after he came out of the locker room at half. He was super cool. But I remember him saying losing Rondo was the game changer for us and the series (and also was bashing Scalbrine like crazy hilariously enough lol).

He was Draymond Green without the size and with a better grasp of his inner demons, Celtics fans I assume gotta love him still and I have some memorable memories and plenty of respect for his game.

[weneeda2guard]

One of those what if in bulls history we will always wonder about

We looked like a team ready to make a deep playoff run when we went up 2-0 on the celtics. And now seeing how Jimmy Butler can get crazy hot and lock in and we know how clutch Wade can be, no telling how far we could have gotten. It's possible if rondo stayed healthy Jimmy makes 1 of his many magical playoff runs. We also probably don't tear it down if we go deep in the playoffs. 1 injury changed everything.

[Axl Rose]

Lets not forget that he punched Brad Miller in the mouth (and the refs screwed us by not calling a flagrant). But i didn't end up hating him after his tenure here (unlike Wade).

[JockItch43]

I'll never forget when he dislocated his elbow in the playoffs with the Celtics and still controlled the game playing with one arm. Soft... Rondo was definitely not. Earned a ton of my respect after that. If he could shoot he'd be known as one of the all time greats.

[donaldtrump_00]

Like anyone else that watched him for the celtics I didn't like him. Thinking he had the upper hand over d.rose. the fighting and bullying our players. Getting away with it lightly. But I grew into liking him. His style is very unique. I feel like he changed a bit after his game fell from allstar status. I like him not getting involved in the wade and butler show in Chicago. He was a pro. Won rings with Boston and lakers. Nice career. If he becomes a coach then I'd take a flier on him. But looks like billy donavan is the guy for Chicago for a long time. I think bd actually needs very good role players vs having stars. He seems to get the best out of them. He got chris Paul, Dennis Schroeder and shai to the playoffs at the time shai wasnt mvp level. And Paul was only slightly better then what he is now. But donavan does good with teams like that. I dont know if derozan vuc and zach are his kinda players. He needs player coach type players mixed in with young up and hungry players. But thanks Rajon Rondo. Your one of the top 25 point guards ever in my opinion and I'm talking regular season and playoffs impact on his teams

[Ice Man]

I never liked him, except for those 2 playoff games with the Bulls. Rondo has a lot of punk in him, and he also takes a lot of games off, including most of the regular season when we had him.

That said, he was an entertaining player, as well as very valuable when dialed in. I will remember him more than a lot of players whom I better liked.

[Mr. Tibbs]

Crazy how time changes things. Hated Rondo in 2009, now I just think back of how astoundingly fun the Rose vs Rondo matchup was.

Then 8 years later he gives us one of the most random roller coaster one-off seasons with Hoiberg and gives us a taste of a massive 8-1 upset against the Celtics no less. As far as a single season for the Bulls goes, he didn't give us Nate Robinson levels of fun, but good times nonetheless.

Watch on YouTube

^^posting this and realizing it was the furthest we've gotten since the Rose era...oof

[dougthonus]

You hate great opponents when going up against them and appreciate the battles after you aren't in the emotionality of them.

I always liked Rondo when he wasn't playing against us and liked him even more when he was playing for us.

[kodo]

He was dirty earlier in his career, but he matured and one of the highest IQ guys I've seen play. He certainly wasn't in the NBA due to his size, athleticism, and shooting ability.

Aside from his playoff-Rondo vs the Celtics, the most memorable moment was Rondo defending the Bulls youngsters against the leadership of Butler & Wade. I'm as a big a fan of Butler as anyone, but he had a lot of growing up to do as a leader while he was on the Bulls. He was far from perfect when he was here.

My vets would never go to the media. They would come to the team. My vets didn’t pick and choose when they wanted to bring it. They brought it every time they stepped in the gym whether it was practice or a game. They didn’t take days off. My vets didn’t care about their numbers. My vets played for the team.

When we lost, they wouldn’t blame us. They took responsibility and got in the gym. They showed the young guys what it meant to work. Even in Boston when we had the best record in the league, if we lost a game, you could hear a pin drop on the bus. They showed us the seriousness of the game.

My vets didn’t have an influence on the coaching staff. They couldn’t change the plan because it didn’t work for them. I played under one of the greatest coaches, and he held everyone accountable.

It takes 1-15 to win. When you isolate everyone, you can’t win consistently. I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a bad teammate. My goal is to pass what I learned along. The young guys work. They show up. They don’t deserve blame. If anything is questionable, it’s the leadership.

[Ice Man]

Aside from his playoff-Rondo vs the Celtics, the most memorable moment was Rondo defending the Bulls youngsters against the leadership of Butler & Wade.

I had forgotten about that and you are exactly right. Rondo was spot on with that issue, to his credit. On the other hand ... he not only quit on Rick Carlisle with Dallas, but used his buddy Perk to drop dirt on national TV about how players don't like to play for Carlisle because he treats them badly. Only you, Rondo. Only you.

Rondo is a complicated guy. I don't think any wholly positive or wholly negative analysis of him can be right.

[DuckIII]

Big fan.

[FriedRise]

Crazy how time changes things. Hated Rondo in 2009, now I just think back of how astoundingly fun the Rose vs Rondo matchup was.

Then 8 years later he gives us one of the most random roller coaster one-off seasons with Hoiberg and gives us a taste of a massive 8-1 upset against the Celtics no less. As far as a single season for the Bulls goes, he didn't give us Nate Robinson levels of fun, but good times nonetheless.

Watch on YouTube

^^posting this and realizing it was the furthest we've gotten since the Rose era...oof

Dude knew everything the Celtics were gonna run. That absolutely would've been Bulls in 4, maybe 5 if he didn't get hurt.

And what a weird season that was. I thought Rondo was a great and necessary signing by the Bulls (especially after they traded DRose that summer), but then they spent 20M to bring DWade and that just didn't make any sense. If they'd just signed veteran shooters and/or a vet PG with that money, we would've had better success. Rondo went down and we had to rely on Jerian Grant and Isaiah Canaan to run our offense. And then our shooting had to come solely from Niko and Denzel, and they were coming off the bench. They hired Hoiberg as coach and forced him to start Taj Gibson next to RoLo to complement the Three Alphas lmao. Just an unserious organization.

[gardenofsound]

Loved him as a Bull. Incredible basketball mind.

I'd really prefer the Bulls not bring folks with recent/active DV allegations... especially if it's part of a pattern or there seems to be a lack of remorse. Already the Sox are bringing Clevinger in (again!) and I'm just sick of this type of behavior being overlooked in athletics.

[Red8911]

He was dirty earlier in his career, but he matured and one of the highest IQ guys I've seen play. He certainly wasn't in the NBA due to his size, athleticism, and shooting ability.

Aside from his playoff-Rondo vs the Celtics, the most memorable moment was Rondo defending the Bulls youngsters against the leadership of Butler & Wade. I'm as a big a fan of Butler as anyone, but he had a lot of growing up to do as a leader while he was on the Bulls. He was far from perfect when he was here.

My vets would never go to the media. They would come to the team. My vets didn’t pick and choose when they wanted to bring it. They brought it every time they stepped in the gym whether it was practice or a game. They didn’t take days off. My vets didn’t care about their numbers. My vets played for the team.

When we lost, they wouldn’t blame us. They took responsibility and got in the gym. They showed the young guys what it meant to work. Even in Boston when we had the best record in the league, if we lost a game, you could hear a pin drop on the bus. They showed us the seriousness of the game.

My vets didn’t have an influence on the coaching staff. They couldn’t change the plan because it didn’t work for them. I played under one of the greatest coaches, and he held everyone accountable.

It takes 1-15 to win. When you isolate everyone, you can’t win consistently. I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a bad teammate. My goal is to pass what I learned along. The young guys work. They show up. They don’t deserve blame. If anything is questionable, it’s the leadership.

Loved Rondo when he was on the Bulls and he was 100% right defending his teammates. Wade then was the biggest problem for that team. Not only was he washed up but he also had the nerve to separate himself and Jimmy from everyone else and blame everyone for the teams issues.

Wade was all talk no action. Funny when he got injured for a while the bulls started playing some very good basketball without him and Rondo was a big part of it. Wade was probably one the worst bulls signings even though in his head he thought he was MJ.

Its a shame Rondo got hurt in the playoffs vs Boston and also a shame Pax rebuilding and moving on from him and Jimmy.

[Muzbar]

He was dirty earlier in his career, but he matured and one of the highest IQ guys I've seen play. He certainly wasn't in the NBA due to his size, athleticism, and shooting ability.

Aside from his playoff-Rondo vs the Celtics, the most memorable moment was Rondo defending the Bulls youngsters against the leadership of Butler & Wade. I'm as a big a fan of Butler as anyone, but he had a lot of growing up to do as a leader while he was on the Bulls. He was far from perfect when he was here.

My vets would never go to the media. They would come to the team. My vets didn’t pick and choose when they wanted to bring it. They brought it every time they stepped in the gym whether it was practice or a game. They didn’t take days off. My vets didn’t care about their numbers. My vets played for the team.

When we lost, they wouldn’t blame us. They took responsibility and got in the gym. They showed the young guys what it meant to work. Even in Boston when we had the best record in the league, if we lost a game, you could hear a pin drop on the bus. They showed us the seriousness of the game.

My vets didn’t have an influence on the coaching staff. They couldn’t change the plan because it didn’t work for them. I played under one of the greatest coaches, and he held everyone accountable.

It takes 1-15 to win. When you isolate everyone, you can’t win consistently. I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a bad teammate. My goal is to pass what I learned along. The young guys work. They show up. They don’t deserve blame. If anything is questionable, it’s the leadership.

Loved Rondo when he was on the Bulls and he was 100% right defending his teammates. Wade then was the biggest problem for that team. Not only was he washed up but he also had the nerve to separate himself and Jimmy from everyone else and blame everyone for the teams issues.

Wade was all talk no action. Funny when he got injured for a while the bulls started playing some very good basketball without him and Rondo was a big part of it. Wade was probably one the worst bulls signings even though in his head he thought he was MJ.

Its a shame Rondo got hurt in the playoffs vs Boston and also a shame Pax rebuilding and moving on from him and Jimmy.

As a big Wade fan, I loved the signing initially, but thought with Rondo he was a poor fit.

If the Bulls had picked up someone that could shoot instead of Wade, Rondo would have been much better and made the team run smoother. Mirotic would have benefited with Rondo running the show more.