Dallas Mavericks: Is Rajon Rondo Wearing His Welcome Out?

Has Dallas Mavericks point guard Rajon Rondo worn out his welcome in Big D?

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It’s one thing for a fall short of expectations in the NBA. However, it’s an entirely different thing to add injury to said insult. And that’s what Rajon Rondo is doing for the Dallas Mavericks this season.

Rondo was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in an attempt to get them over the top in the super competitive Western Conference. He was supposed to be the missing star that would catapult this team into contender status.

And on paper, that’s exactly what he did. Who has a better starting five right now? Maybe Golden State? But that’s about it.

However, on the court, the Mavericks have looked anything but that. Before the Mavs acquired Rondo, they sat with a 19-8 record. Since the acquisition, the Mavs are 20-12. If anything, Dallas has been slightly worse.

Here’s the breakdown:

[table id=20 /]

The records are pretty similar, but the offense takes a nice dip. Even though the defense gets better with Rondo, that net rating would indicate that this team isn’t exactly “better” with Rondo. Perhaps his greatest asset to this team comes playoff time, who knows, but it’s pretty clear that the acquisition of Rondo isn’t working out as the Mavericks wanted it to.

And when things aren’t going right, every little mistake is magnified. Which was perfectly portrayed Tuesday night when Rondo and Mavs coach Rick Carlisle got into a shouting match during a timeout.

Which isn’t exaclty what you like to see from your star player and head coach but if you know anything about Rondo, it’s pretty much common. Not sure if that’s a good thing or even something you can just brush off, though.

Even if Carlisle downplayed it after the game, his actions after the altercation spoke louder than his postgame words.

"[via Rondo’s tenure with Mavs might be short — ESPN]“Well, it’s an emotional game and we had a difference of opinion,” Carlisle said. “There was an exchange, and then, in my mind, it was over.”Well, it apparently lasted at least the rest of the game. The evidence: Rondo rode the pine for the final 20:10, a span in which reserve guards Devin Harris and J.J. Barea played key roles in the Mavs’ rally from a nine-point deficit."

According to that same article, tensions between Rondo and Carlisle about play-calling has been brewing for a while now. Rondo reportedly blew off a play call from Carlisle, which prompted the altercations after the coach called a timeout.

With his upcoming free agency in the summer, the question will be asked soon: has Rajon Rondo worn out his welcome in Dallas?

The Mavericks expected Rondo to take this team to the next level. By now, it’s pretty clear that his 9.0 points, 6.2 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game haven’t done that. Would Rondo have been given a pass if the Mavericks would be leading — or even merely close to — the hierarchy of the Western Conference? Probably.

But that isn’t the case, and with the uncertainty of his immediate future, perhaps this Rondo-Mavericks marriage will be a short-lived one.

And there will certainly be many teams waiting in the wings, if the Dallas Mavericks decide not to bring back this headache next season.

Next: LeBron James has once again made winners of perennial losers