ARTICLE: "Luka Doncic and Rick Carlisle: The dissolution of their relationship"

[mavsluvr]

What I took from this article...

Dirk recognizes talent.  Rondo is a baller.  Was a baller still when Mavs got him.   

How was anyone to know that Rondo would act like that?  And...why was the Analytics department so against Rondo?  His shooting percentages?  Their numbers crunched up a conclusion that Rondo had a high probability he would "act out"?

Know one knew it then...but Rondo seems to be hitting the 3 these days.

Anyway...Im glad someone in the building recognizes ballers.

Did the article mention Rondo?

Iirc, the analytics department did not think Rondo would fit well in the system the Mavs were running, as there did not seem to be a place in it for a non-shooting guard, and Rondo liked to run a slow-paced, half-court offense, which wasn't what the Mavs wanted to do then. At the time, Rondo wasn't making many threes. 

Going from memory again, I recall that Rondo had had a few behavioral issues, but that the reported main reason for Boston getting rid of him was that he was never the same player after his injury, he was the last remnant of their latest championship team, and they wanted to move on. 

I believe the front office feared that Rondo would not be enthusiastic or particularly effective in a system where he would have to make threes, play fast, and share control of the offense with Rick. However, Dirk badly wanted a better PG, Rondo was available, and I think they feared alienating Dirk more than they feared the effects of Rondo's displeasure. I don't think they anticipated the extent of Rondo's acting out (which was extraordinarily unprofessional), but he was never happy here, and he probably wasn't coming back at the end of the season, anyway, so just as well that he left when he did, considering the circumstances. 

Rondo has evidently figured out now that there is no longer a place in the NBA (let alone just the Mavs) for a guard who can't shoot, and he has apparently worked on that since his brief stint here. 

I don't remember the article talking about Rondo, but I suppose he is another example of a guy who didn't hit it off with Rick, and arguably wasn't a great choice for this team in the first place. As far as talent is concerned, Rondo was really good before his knee had to be reconstructed. A guy can be a skilled and talented player, and still not fit in very well within certain styles of play. I think for a point guard, fit is particularly important. Having said that, I don't blame Dirk for wanting a better point guard, and think it is too bad the organization's inability to find one made it necessary for Dirk to force the issue with Rondo, if that it indeed what happened.