Rajon Rondo excluded as Mavs spread around playoff money

DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks opted not to give departed point guard Rajon Rondo a playoff share, sources said.

Rajon Rondo will be seeking greener pastures after his short-lived run with the Mavs ended unceremoniously. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

Rondo, who was acquired by the Mavericks in a blockbuster trade in December, left the team after the first two games of their first-round playoff series against Houston. The Mavs announced that Rondo had suffered a back injury, but a source told ESPNDallas.com that the team and Rondo actually reached a mutual decision to go their separate ways after he played only 9 minutes and 55 seconds in Dallas' Game 2 loss.

The other 14 players on the roster evenly divided $208,940, which is awarded to teams that lose in the first round of the playoffs. Houston beat Dallas in five games in the best-of-seven series.

Players determine how the team's playoff shares are divided. The players did not vote to exclude Rondo, the source said. They were simply presented with a list that did not include him, and there were no objections.

Rondo will become a free agent this summer. Coach Rick Carlisle has made it clear that he does not expect Rondo to return to Dallas.

While the results of the Rondo trade were far from what the Mavs had hoped, Dallas president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson expressed no regrets about the deal that sent swingman Jae Crowder, center Brandan Wright, point guard Jameer Nelson, a protected first-round pick and a second-round pick to Boston.

"That was definitely something worth pulling the trigger on," Nelson said after conducting exit interviews Wednesday. "In our opinion, that was kind of the one piece that was missing. Certainly, a guy that's 28 with the accolades and the championship experience and all defense and we've had a history of doing well with pass-first point guards.

"Sometimes when things are written down on paper, they look great; when things are going into the oven they feel great and a lot of times when it comes out sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. It was one of those things that in our estimation certainly wasn't risk free, but it was certainly worth the risk. If we would've had to do it all over again, we would've pulled the trigger again."

holfresh wrote:Rondo would be a nice fit in NO..Not sure how the coach would handle him..A nice group of outside shooters in Gordon, Anderson, and Pondexter..They should roll the dice, it New Orleans after all...

NardDogNation wrote:Rondo would be a better fit for Indiana, especially with the Celtics connection in Larry Bird.

Why? Cuz Larry and Ainge are friends? Ainge been trying to shed Rondo for a few years.

"No soup for Rondo"!!!

TripleThreat wrote:Do not agree with this type of "team behavior"

IMHO, if the issue was to exclude Rondo, and to move on from him, then the rest of the players could have voted to give their share to charity. If Rondo kept his, then he would have been destroyed in the press with a well timed leak.

I believe a "team's dirty laundry" no matter the level, should always stay in house.

IMHO, it's not about Rondo, it's about the principle behind defending the basic locker room code.

The players did not vote to exclude Rondo, the source said. They were simply presented with a list that did not include him, and there were no objections.

knickscity wrote:

TripleThreat wrote:Do not agree with this type of "team behavior"

IMHO, if the issue was to exclude Rondo, and to move on from him, then the rest of the players could have voted to give their share to charity. If Rondo kept his, then he would have been destroyed in the press with a well timed leak.

I believe a "team's dirty laundry" no matter the level, should always stay in house.

IMHO, it's not about Rondo, it's about the principle behind defending the basic locker room code.

When it was time to divy the money Rondo was no longer Maverick. Not saying the NBA is similar to normal secular work, but I can think of some jobs that dont give terminated employees their cut of the quarterly bonuses. They usually have to be "employed" to receive those bonuses. thats why his name wasn't on the list.

It might depend on how the CBA is written..This might not be look at as a bonus..He actually played in the playoffs..

neptunez24 wrote:Am i the only that thinks Rondo is the perfect fit for the knicks and melo?
Melo needs a PG that will be a vocal leader and get the team into its offensive sets, more importantly protecting melo from himself...
Rondo is a tenacious defender and a pass first PG.
His weaknesses are that he is not a very good shooter and has a history of battling with teammates and coaches...
Rondo's value will be at an all time low also so this would be the perfect time to pick him up.
I just feel that he brings all the qualities that will bring the best out of melo.
Rondo really is only guilty of wanting to win so bad... can you really hold that against a player????

Rondo is that you???

Nalod wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:Rondo would be a better fit for Indiana, especially with the Celtics connection in Larry Bird.

Why? Cuz Larry and Ainge are friends? Ainge been trying to shed Rondo for a few years.

"No soup for Rondo"!!!

That Celtic connection might allow Bird to get through to Rondo. Plus, he reached a headcase like Lance Stephenson, so why not Rondo? And that roster is filled with floor spacers and no dominant ball handlers so I'd expect him to fit in exceedingly well there.

holfresh wrote:

knickscity wrote:

TripleThreat wrote:Do not agree with this type of "team behavior"

IMHO, if the issue was to exclude Rondo, and to move on from him, then the rest of the players could have voted to give their share to charity. If Rondo kept his, then he would have been destroyed in the press with a well timed leak.

I believe a "team's dirty laundry" no matter the level, should always stay in house.

IMHO, it's not about Rondo, it's about the principle behind defending the basic locker room code.

When it was time to divy the money Rondo was no longer Maverick. Not saying the NBA is similar to normal secular work, but I can think of some jobs that dont give terminated employees their cut of the quarterly bonuses. They usually have to be "employed" to receive those bonuses. thats why his name wasn't on the list.

It might depend on how the CBA is written..This might not be look at as a bonus..He actually played in the playoffs..