Point guard Rajon Rondo and the Chicago Bulls have already had quite the interesting start to 2017. While the Bulls continue to be a middling Eastern Conference team, sitting one game below .500 with a 19-20 record, turmoil continues to swirl around the franchise. Their pedestrian season has significantly underwhelmed, especially after the signing of future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade this past offseason.
Recently though there have been tensions between the Bulls front office and Wade’s fellow backcourt mate, Rondo. On paper, the Bulls have what seems to be quite the talented roster but head coach Fred Hoiberg knew he needed to shake things up which resulted in Rondo being benched.
Rajon Rondo, a former all-star, wasn’t used to a bench role and the move certainly raised some eyebrows, especially due to the reputation Rondo has as one of the craftiest passers in the entire association.
It was unclear whether the benching would be a permanent transition or whether it was a temporary move. Based off the latest report from ESPN’s Nick Friedell, it seems Rondo coming off the bench is set to be a crucial fixture of the Bulls’ identity moving forward:
Hoiberg noted he wants Rondo to be the "leader of that second unit" moving forward.
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) January 12, 2017
Young point guard Michael Carter-Williams has taken over the role as the starter alongside Wade in the backcourt and assumes to keep that position moving forward.
While these are uncharted waters for Rondo, this move could be in the best interest for him and the Bulls in the future. Chicago boasts a plethora of sharpshooters off the bench such as Denzel Valentine, Doug McDermoot, and Nikola Mirotic who could all benefit from Rondo’s ability to run the show and find spotted up shooters on the wing. As for the starters, Wade can now play more comfortably and run the show like he’s used to.
In his last game off the bench, Rondo produced a respectable stat line of 12 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds in 27 minutes against the Washington Wizards. Hopefully, for Bull fans, this move jumpstarts a franchise seemingly in need of a change.
