DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo have taken it upon themselves to build some semblance of a culture in Sacramento, and Boogie intends to work together with his new point guard for many years to come.
Following a short and disastrous stint in Dallas, Rondo inked a one-year deal with the Kings last summer and is playing like the Rajon we’ve grown accustomed: the 29-year-old is putting up averages of 12.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and an NBA-leading 10.7 assists per game.
Rick Carlisle on Rajon Rondo: "He's a max player next year. Someone's going to have to back up the truck to get him."
— Tim Cato (@tim_cato) November 29, 2015
Rondo says that Cousins finally has a veteran teammate whom he must respect.
Per Yahoo! Sports:
“Cousins has never played with a vet that he respected,” Rondo said. “I think I’ve got his attention a little bit. I think he respects what I say. […] He will do his own thing. I’m not trying to be his daddy. But I want to be his big brother like (Kevin Garnett) was to me, showing me the ropes and helping me along the way. Everything that I’m telling him, K.G. told me. Experience is everything. If someone has it and is willing to share it, I was always trying to soak in as much knowledge as possible.”
Among the Garnett sayings that Rondo has shared with Cousins is: “You can’t pick and choose when you want to lead.” It’s advice Rondo should have followed last season when he had some issues with the Mavs and coach Rick Carlisle. And that’s perhaps why he knows Cousins could’ve done a better job of handling his early season issues with (George) Karl. […] “There is always a time and place,” Rondo said. “[Cousins] saying what he was saying in front of the team. … The concept of what he was saying may not have been wrong, it’s just the delivery. I’ve had a lot of blowups and I’ve learned from them. I told him, ‘You’re wrong on how you did it. Your [message] might be right, but that’s when you go in his office and talk to him.’”
“He ain’t going nowhere. I will kidnap him myself,” Cousins said. […] Rondo said he’d been wanting to play with the “best big man in the game” for the past three years, so does that mean he’s re-signing with the Kings next offseason? “In the words of K.G., ‘Anything is possible,’“ Rondo said.
