Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen need to talk.
The former Boston Celtics have been at odds with each other ever since Allen left the C’s in favor of signing with the Miami Heat in 2012. And Allen’s recently released book, “From The Outside: My Journey Through Life and the Game I Love,” did nothing to defuse those tensions. In one excerpt, Allen calls out Rondo for saying he “carried” the Celtics to the NBA championship in 2008.
And, well, that didn’t sit well with the New Orleans Pelicans guard.
“He just wants attention,”Rondo recently told The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn. “I need actually some sales from (the book), only (publicity) it’s been getting is from my name. I need some percentage or something. His people contact my people or something. The only pub I’ve been hearing about is when he mentions my name.”
Shots fired.
Rondo apparently believes Allen wrote the book because he was struggling — in one way or another.
“Obviously that man is hurting,” Rondo said. “I don’t know if it’s financially, I don’t know if it’s mentally. He wants to stay relevant. I am who I am. I don’t try to be something I’m not. I can’t say the same for him. He’s looking for attention. I’m a better human being than that. I take accountability for my actions.
“Certain (stuff) happens in my life, I man up. But he has a whole other agenda.”
At the end of the day, it seems as if Rondo is open to reconciling with Allen, as long as it’s on his terms.
“I just want to talk to him man-to-man,” Rondo said. “I don’t have a problem with the man. I haven’t said anything.”
Fair enough.
We suspect Rondo, Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett eventually will put the past behind them and move on from this mess. It doesn’t appear as if it will happen anytime soon, however.
