Rajon Rondo is well known for his high basketball IQ, which explains his deep understanding of the game and excellent mentorship skills. While most of Rondo’s point guard colleagues are already accepting roles as basketball coaches, the former Lakers player is waiting for the perfect opportunity from LeBron James to kickstart his coaching career.
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Speaking to Rachel Nichols on the Bully Ball podcast, Rondo revealed that he would consider a coaching career once LeBron James buys the Las Vegas expansion team. The 38-year-old also revealed that as far as his coaching staff is concerned, he would be happy to include his veteran colleague from the league, DeMarcus Cousins. Rondo clarified that Cousins’ main role will be to provide security and protection to the head coach a.k.a Rondo from other players.
Boogie seemed quite elated with this offer, however, he had one condition under which he was willing to accept this new role. “I got to rock out with my dog, but he’s given me the short end of the stick, which is fine,” said Cousins, reacting to the generous offer. However, laying out his only condition for taking the job, Boogie added, “I will work my way up, but I’m… all game winning plays are ran through me. I don’t give a damn what he has to say– that’s part of my contract. It’s the only way I’m signing.”
DeMarcus Cousins is a 4x NBA All-Star and has played with teams such as the Golden State Warriors, the Sacramento Kings, and the Houston Rockets. Cousins was last seen in the league as a backup option for Nikola Jokic while playing for the Denver Nuggets in 2022. Since 2023, Boogie has taken his talents overseas, playing for the Taiwanese T1 League team Taiwan Beer Leopards. There’s no doubt that Rondo and Cousins will make a nice combination of coaches for any team if they really decide to come through.
LeBron James chalked out the reason behind Rajon Rondo not choosing a coaching career
LeBron James has played alongside Rondo on the championship-winning Lakers team from 2018 to 2020. Though Rondo has not officially retired, he hasn’t played in the league since the 2022 season. In his latest Mind The Game podcast with JJ Redick, James spoke highly of his former teammate’s basketball IQ and also revealed why Rondo is stalling a coaching career.
James said, “He could do things on the go. It’s very weird to me that he’s not coaching at a high level – I think it’s because he doesn’t want to do it. Who wants to deal with these rich entitled guys all the time?”
However, as Rondo has declared now, his allegiance still lies with his former teammate, LeBron James. If James were to own the Vegas expansion team that is expected to feature in the NBA, we might as well soon see RR as the head coach of the brand-new franchise.
