Reviewing Rajon Rondo, a necessary risk

Looking Back

Ever heard of Schrödinger's cat? It's a paradoxical thought experiment in which the unknown status of something causes it to hold not one status, but two. Ultimately, if there is a cat in an unopened box, which also contains a sealed caspule of poison set to release at an unknown time, we can say the cat is simultaneously alive and dead (as long as we continue to leave the box unopened).

However, once we open the box, we will discover the status of the cat within, and the cat will be either alive or dead, and not simultaneously both.

For Mavericks fans everywhere, Dec. 18, 2014, is the day Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson, and the rest of the Dallas front office grabbed the nearest crowbar and wrenched open the top of the box. Unfortunately, the cat was very, very, very dead. The most dead.

However, I'm still of the opinion that the Mavericks had to open the box. Passing on the Rajon Rondo trade would have left unanswered questions of "what if?" and sentiments such as, "if we had just made the trade..." But a failed Rondo experiment, bitter as it feels, was a necessary risk.

As great as Brandan Wright was in this organization, he, along with Jae Crowder and Jameer Nelson, was not going to get this thing where we all wanted it, deep in the playoffs. And while losing the team's backup center undoubtedly weakened the post defense and rebounding, the hope of what Rondo might do here was too much to pass up. We were promised perimeter defense, a point guard who knew what he was doing, someone who would elevate the level of play. We got none of that, but that doesn't mean the Mavericks shouldn't have tried.

He had his moments, recording six double-doubles, dropping 29 on his former Celtics friends, 13 assists in a win over the Thunder...but in the end, the cat was still dead.

Now we know, and now we can move on.

Looking Forward

Rondo is an unrestricted free agent, who will undoubtedly ask for a max contract wherever he goes. Will he get one? I don't know. He's still a serviceable point guard in this league, but he's a shell of his former self. Injuries, age, and attitude, have all ensured that what ever team brings him in next will need to lower their expectations dramatically. They'll need to learn from the misplaced hope the Mavericks had.

One thing we know for sure is that Rondo won't be in Dallas. No no, it will be some other poor team, wrenching the box top off, and barely glancing over the edge before the smell of dead animal sends them reeling back again, forcing them to ask themselves if it was worth it.

Bonus Rondo? (Shut, up Jamie, nobody wants more Rondo)

"Rajon Rondo is the Worse" -- by J. Paul Slavens performing at The Live Oak in Fort Worth