With the New Orleans Pelicans boasting the best big man combination in the NBA, it was their backcourt that needed and underwent major overhaul this offseason. Though Jrue Holiday remains a fixture in the team’s starting backcourt, the Pelicans front office made it their mission to find someone to pair with him.
Though well past his prime, New Orleans thought they did just that when they inked point guard Rajon Rondo to a 1-year deal. Though Rondo isn’t the best starting option at this point, the Pelicans don’t have much at their disposal and his savvy passing skills should help this offense run smoothly with two superstar talents sharing the paint.
However, before any of that can be accomplished, Rondo suffered a preseason setback and his Pelicans debut will likely be put on hold. According to Pelicans studio host Daniel Sallerson, Rondo has suffered a sports hernia and will see a specialist in order to determine whether surgery will be necessary:
.@PelicansNBA Head Coach Alvin Gentry says Rajon Rondo has a sports hernia. He will see a specialist tomorrow.
— Daniel Sallerson (@dsallerson) October 8, 2017
According to Mike Helfgot of The New Orleans Advocate, expectations are that Rondo will be sidelined for about a month but head coach Alvin Gentry says he’s unable to shed any light on his point guard’s status until he sees a specialist.
“I’m not a medical doctor, we’ll see what happens after he sees a specialist.”
(UPDATE 10/10/17)
Shams Charania of The Vertical reports Rondo did undergo surgery and he will miss 4-6 weeks.
This is a blow for a New Orleans team that was looking for an additional passing element out of their backcourt with Rondo. Now with his injury status looking cloudy, expect Jrue Holiday to take over as the point guard in the interim and for either recent signee Ian Clark or veteran E’Twuan Moore to slide in at shooting guard for now.
The 31-year-old Rondo posted per game averages of 7.8 points to go with 6.7 assists and 5.1 rebounds in 69 games with the Chicago Bulls last season.
