Rondo calm, candid in Bulls introduction
New Bulls guard Rajon Rondo acknowledged he spoke or texted with newest Bulls guard Dwyane Wade before and after the former Miami Heat star committed to the Bulls on Wednesday evening.
What's not clear is if Wade is OK with Rondo giving control of the team to a third party, Bulls incumbent Jimmy Butler.
"Well, obviously, I think it's Jimmy's team," Rondo told reporters Thursday at the Advocate Center. "Wade ... I don't know how they're going to handle that, but Jimmy's the youngest, he's the engine here. It'll be Jimmy, Wade, and then it will be a pecking order."
During his official Bulls introduction, Rondo was the same guy NBA fans got to know during his days in Boston, leading the Celtics' Big Three to a championship in 2008. Rondo was calm, measured, intelligent and willing to answer tough questions.
Rondo brushed off the idea of feeling pressure in replacing Derrick Rose, a former MVP and hometown hero. Later in the interview, Rondo made an interesting comment that wasn't meant as a knock on Rose, but emphasized the difference in the two players.
"I'm a pass-first point guard," Rondo said. "So a lot of these guys are going to have to get on the same page and figure out where the ball is coming. I don't think none of these guys have ever played with a guy like me."
The numbers back up Rondo's assessment. He led the NBA in assists last season at 11.7 per game playing for Sacramento. Rose averaged 4.7 assists last year for the Bulls. But Rose has always been a main scorer on his team, Rondo hasn't.
"We bring two different things," Rondo said. "It's what makes him great, what makes me great. I'm not filling anyone's shoes. We've had a lot of great battles. I've had a lot of respect for Derrick, I'm gonna come in and be Rajon Rondo."
Asked about his reputation about being difficult to coach at times, Rondo didn't back away. In fact, he admitted he hasn't changed much during his 10 seasons in the NBA.
"No, I'm the same player," he said. "You can consider me stubborn, but I think I'm really intelligent. I don't BS around. I put a lot of work in, I watch film, I study. People may knock it but I think it's what makes me great. I talk to a lot of older players and players I have respect for and they don't consider it a knock. I talk to older coaches as well. These guys will get to know me. Like I said people have always doubted me, and this is day one. We'll see."
Rondo said he watched video for about two hours with Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg and assistant Jim Boylen during his July 1 visit. Rondo appreciates that Hoiberg is trying to run a read offense and doesn't want to call a lot of set plays.
Rondo believes he's the right type of point guard for this offense, but how it all fits with Wade, Butler and the Bulls' younger players remains to be seen.
"What makes me confident is what I've been through, what I've seen, what I've witnessed," Rondo said. "And I think everything in life you go through is for a reason. For me, playing in Boston, playing with the Big Three, I was able to see how those guys interacted with one another. Knowing that everything doesn't have to be perfect in practice. You're going to disagree, but if you all have one common goal at the end of the day and that's to get a W, that's all that matters.
"We have three alphas on the team (Wade, Butler and himself). The main thing is trying to mesh together and sacrifice and just trying to do what's best for the team."
Asked if he's concerned Rondo might give Hoiberg problems or be a bad influence on younger teammates, Bulls general manager Gar Forman basically said management did its homework and had long, honest conversations with Rondo before the deal became official.
"I think Fred's excited to coach this group," Forman said. "With Rondo, there was very open dialogue over a couple day period. … After those conversations, we thought he was a good fit."
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