Chicago Bulls

Chicago Bulls: Has Rajon Rondo Earned A Spot Back In The Rotation?

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:06 a.m. ET

Fansided, James D. Tillman III/FanSided via Hoops Habit

At the halfway point of the 2016-17 NBA season, it is clear that the Chicago Bulls and Rajon Rondo are not on the same page.

When the Chicago Bulls signed Rajon Rondo during the offseason, the decision raised a few eyebrows to say the least. For starters, this wasn’t a move for a team was supposedly trying to get younger and athletic.

Secondly, being that Rondo has had his fair share of not so great moments over the past few seasons, it was reasonable for Bulls fans to wonder whether the pattern of bad behavior would continue in the Windy City.

Initially, all was well between Rondo and the Bulls, as second-year coach Fred Hoiberg offered praise about his new point guard during training camp.

From CSN Chicago’s Vincent Goodwill:

“The biggest thing that I’ve been most impressed with with Rajon is the minute he stepped on this floor when he got back here in August is he pulled everybody together,” Hoiberg said. “If you have a guy not only offensively getting you into something but defensively making sure guys are pointing and talking and making sure guys are pointing and talking and getting back and matched up in transition, that’s where it starts.

“He’s been here. He’s been great. He’s a guy who you can watch film with in September before we got rolling here in camp. He got us off to a great start.”

Fast forward to the present, however, and it seems that a different narrative has emerged over the past few weeks. In fact, prior to the team’s game against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night, Rondo had been out of the rotation for the past five games.

But with Jimmy Butler (illness), Dwyane Wade (rest) and Nikola Mirotic (illness) unable to suit up, the Bulls had no choice but to turn to Rondo, and the results were positive.

More from Hoops Habit

After entering the game halfway through the opening quarter, Rondo converted three of his first four attempts and finished the frame with six points, three assists and two rebounds — helping the Bulls jump out to an early double-digit lead.

While the Wizards went on to win the game by a two-point margin (101-99), Rondo had a solid outing, finishing with 12 points on 6-for-13 shooting, six assists, four rebounds and three steals in 27 minutes of action. That’s the positive side of Rondo’s recent performance.

The other side of the equation is that the head coach and player don’t share the same opinion as to why Rondo was removed from the rotation to begin with. Hoiberg has advised that he and Rondo have discussed the recent turn of events and that he has handled it well.

On the flip side of the coin, Rondo has stated that he has not received a lengthy explanation from Hoiberg as to why he has been riding the pine for the last five games.

“I got a slight explanation from another guy on the staff. A guy told me that he was saving me from myself,” Rondo said, via the Chicago Tribune. “I don’t want to say any names. But that’s what the explanation was. In Cleveland, they told me I had a negative 20 (plus-minus rating) in Indiana at halftime. I think that was part of the reason.”

When pressed further about his thoughts on the explanation, Rondo had this to say.

“I thought it was (expletive),” Rondo said. “Save me from myself. I never heard that before in my life. But I guess he was trying to do the best thing for me.”

What makes this latest development even more strange is that Hoiberg stated that he is unaware of the explanation supposedly provided to Rondo by one of the assistant coaches.

Fred Hoiberg says on @CSNChicago postgame interview that he's not aware of an assistant telling Rondo they were saving him from himself.

— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) January 11, 2017

That being said, it has become clear that the two sides are not on the same page.

From a short-term perspective, Rondo played well enough to earn some playing time in Chicago’s next game against the New York Knicks. The long-term question is will that continue to the be the case moving forward or will the Bulls consider moving him before trade deadline?

As strange as it may sound, it appears that it may be the latter of two considering that Rondo’s recent stint on the court came about as a result of three players being out of the lineup.