Rajon Rondo is playing at an All-Star level again, and no less than Dallas Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle admits to that.
Rondo's departure from the Mavs was considered as an 'ugly' separation with a publicized 'spat' between the former Celtics guard and the Mavs coach. That may have been overblown, based on the coach's comments on ESPN.
In hindsight, he does regret the trade: "Going back in time, it's a deal we should have shied away from, for the sake of us and for the sake of him. It's a deal we shouldn't have made."
However, Carlisle does not blame Rondo for the debacle. "We were a worse fit for him than he was for us." He mentions that the Mavs "had a team of slashers last year" and Rondo needs shooters.
Carlisle admits: "Now he's got a center that's a shooter, he's got wing players that can all shoot the ball, and George has given him the keys to the ignition. He'll be great in that situation. We didn't have enough shooters around him."
The question for Rondo moving forward is whether the Kings would be a playoff team. The way he is playing, leading the league in assists, he will get monster offers from teams needing a point guard. Would they be able to convince Rondo to stay amid the turmoil?
One team that can promise to compete is the Houston Rockets. The Rockets seem to have given up on Ty Lawson, as stated in Hoops Habit noting that the Rockets have pulled him out of the starting five and is actually giving him very little playing time.
The Rockets rely on three point shooting more than any other team (except maybe the Warriors) but they are not shooting very well. Rondo's penetrations can help give the Rockets' shooters better looks.
Lawson agreed to make the second year of his contract non-guaranteed, and that is probably the only trade value for him. If Houston were to swing for Rondo, they might need to include draft picks, as cap space does not seem enough for the Kings since they are usually shunned by free agents.