Rajon Rondo might finally get that maximum contract after all.
Toward the end of his tenure with the Boston Celtics, rumors flooded the market saying the then-28-year-old point guard wanted a maximum contract offer in free agency. When asked at Celtics media day in 2014, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge gave the idea his support, telling reporters any player who was a four-time All-Star by age 27 deserved a max deal.
Ainge ultimately traded Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks roughly four months after making those comments, and the stubborn guard’s nature severely hurt his value last offseason. He settled for a one-year, $9.5 million contract with the Sacramento Kings.
Now, nearly two years removed from the initial injury, Rondo again is lighting up the NBA. He leads the league in triple-doubles (four) and assists per game (10.7), and is shooting a career-high 35.4 percent from 3-point range. He’ll likely test the free agent waters again this summer, with an influx of cap space expected around the league. Given his terrific season, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he gets max dollars when he signs on the dotted line in 2016 — and NBA executives are taking notice, according to Sporting News.
“I don’t know whether he will quite get the maximum, mostly because we don’t know what the max is going to be,” one Eastern Conference general manager told Sporting News’ Sean Deveney. “But there is going to be a lot of money on the market and only a handful of players who you would really say are max guys. If Rajon were to keep playing the way he’s been playing, if he is not getting the max next year, it’ll be close.”
Another had similar thoughts.
“It would not surprise me at all if he winds up with a max deal next summer,” another league executive said. “Maybe not for five years, but a three-year deal or something like that. But if he stays healthy, I would expect the money to be around max. But let’s see how the year goes.”
Rondo turns 30 in February, but he wouldn’t be the first player to reach that threshold and get a max deal. So while he’s no longer wearing green every night, he might certainly be rolling in it come next fall.
Thumbnail photo via Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports Images
h/t to Pro Basketball Talk
