Rollercoaster Rajon Rondo Now 100 Percent Committed to Team USA

LAS VEGAS -- Rajon Rondo was out. Then he was in. Then he was out again. Then he was back in.

Nobody was completely sure what the Boston point guard would do until he showed up in Las Vegas this week for Team USA's training camp. Now that it's here, Rondo wanted to leave no doubt about his commitment.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't (100 percent committed),'' Rondo said in an interview with FanHouse on Thursday after the third day of camp in preparation for the World Championship, Aug. 28-Sept. 12 in Turkey.

It all started when USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said just before NBA All-Star Weekend in February that Rondo "was not responsive to inquires regarding his interest'' and was out of consideration. During that weekend in Dallas, Rondo said he never had heard anything and Colangelo, agreeing there was miscommunication, said Rondo was back in consideration.

Yet just when Rondo was expected to be formally named to the roster in May, he dropped out again. His agent, Bill Duffy, said he had a family commitment.

But 1 ½ weeks ago, Rondo got on the phone with Colangelo. He said he again wanted to be considered, and here he is in Las Vegas.



Rondo did acknowledge a family commitment had something to do with his May decision to not be part of Team USA. But the reason he cited the most for his wavering was the wear and tear of a season in which Boston went to Game 7 of the NBA Finals before falling to the Lakers.

"I played in a lot of games,'' Rondo said. "I played probably more games in a certain stretch than anybody here (with Team USA). So I didn't know if my body would hold up. I play the game in a different style. I hit the floor a lot. I had to make sure my body was healthy and straight. ... There was (the family situation), but everything was cool with the family.''

Rondo played in 81 of Boston's 82 regular-season games and all 24 of the Celtics' playoff games. It's no wonder he believed he needed a break, and took one after Boston lost June 17 in Game 7.

"I hadn't picked up a ball since we lost Game 7. I played about 135 games straight,'' said Rondo, a figure that is a bit of exaggeration even when Boston's eight preseason games are considered. "So I got to take a break sometime. I'm young (24), but I still need a break mentally and physically from the game.''

Even though Rondo played in his first All-Star Game last season and is regarded as one of the NBA's top point guards, some don't consider him a lock to make the Team USA roster because competition at the point is so stiff with the likes of Chauncey Billups, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook also on hand. Asked about that, Rondo turned to a fan standing nearby.

"He thinks I'm a lock,'' Rondo said as the fan agreed. "It depends on who you talk to.''

OK, Rajon. Do you think you're a lock?

"Nothing is guaranteed in life,'' said Rondo, who averaged 13.7 points and 9.8 assists last season. "I'm pretty confident in my game. If they like it, they like it. If they don't, so be it.''

There's one person whose opinion counts the most about whether Rondo makes the team. And while Colangelo isn't calling Rondo a lock for the final 12-man roster, he let it be known his chances are "very good, very good.''

Colangelo saying that twice means something. While Colangelo hasn't always been enamored with Rondo sometimes being reluctant to commit to USA Basketball, that's all now all in the past.

"I'm glad he is,'' Colangelo said about Rondo saying he's 100 percent committed. "I haven't heard anything otherwise, and I think he's enjoying it.''

Rondo doesn't disagree.

"I'm not as tired as I thought I would be (through the third day),'' Rondo said. "Day 1 was tough (because of his month of inactivity). But I'm making it through practice.''

While Rondo is getting more comfortable, so are his teammates. Forward Kevin Durant admits he can take awhile to adjust to Rondo's game.

"Phenomenal point guard,'' Durant said. "You never know what he's going to do. Of course, you just got to get used to him because he can go down the lane and you think he'll pass and lay it up, where the next time he could wrap it around to you and throw it to you on the other side of the court.

"He's kind of unpredictable. That makes his game unique. But, at the same time, everybody has to be ready for his passes and what he's going to do because he's such a great player.''

Is he the best point guard in the game today?

"He's one of them,'' said Chicago's Rose, also an All-Star last season as was Denver's Billups. "There are a lot of point guards. All of them are better than me. I'm just trying to get up there. But he's one of them for sure.''

There is one real negative to Rondo's game. He's a career 63 percent shooter from the foul line, and really fell apart in the Finals, shooting 5-of-19 for anemic 26.3 percent.

"If they didn't want me because of my free-throw shooting, they shouldn't have asked me to come,'' Rondo said. "But they wanted me to come, so we'll see (what happens).''

Rondo now really wants to be a part of Team USA in Turkey, and Colangelo is sure sounding as if he wants him to be there.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com or on Twitter @christomasson