Gary Washburn describe him in "The Boston Globe" as polarizing. Perhaps even more than that, Rondo's Boston play and attitude was mercurial.
Professionalism is the will to 'get after it', even when you don't feel like it. The NBA season is a hundred game marathon, where fatigue and travel intersect 'a sprinting game' and the reality of facing twenty-five to fifty screens a night as an NBA guard. Those 'hard' words of commitment, discipline, energy, and sacrifice trump authenticity. Rondo's acknowledgement of not playing defense for a couple of years indict his desire for megabucks. When your honesty exceeds your integrity, then you have a character flaw, no matter who you are.
Truly great players perform at or near their best more often than near great players. Rondo had many great Boston moments, but his admission of laziness surely sullies his reputation and his quest for a hundred million dollars.
Kevin Eastman would say, "you are responsible for your paycheck." If you want a max deal, then only in a dystopian world do you get it with an occasional triple double punctuating sub 40 percent field goal and free throw percentages. I get the 'body of work' argument AND the Janet Jacksonian "What Have You Done for Me Lately?" one, too. But it's hard to be a 'disinterested' Superman...it ain't easy being Green.
I'm not the biggest Rondo fan, not because of his personality but because of his inconsistent play. Yesterday's candor only reaffirmed my belief that moving him was the right option for the C's. In a perverse way, Rondo's performance last night only proved that point...because he literally lacked the will to do the same on the parquet for the Celtics. If you want to be the face of the team, then you must also be its heart and soul.
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