WASHINGTON — Bulls point guard Rajon Rondo said he was told by a member of the Chicago coaching staff that coach Fred Hoiberg was “saving me from myself” by benching the four-time All-Star for the past five games.
Before returning to action in a game Tuesday night, Rondo said Hoiberg had not provided a reason for his benching.
“I got a slight explanation from another guy on the [coaching] staff,” Rondo said. “The guy told me that he was saving me from myself.”
Rondo said he was surprised by the comment and said he did not understand it.
“I thought it was bullsh–,” he said. “Save me from myself? I’ve never heard that before in my life. I guess he was trying to do the best thing for me.”
Rondo came off the bench in the first quarter against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. He hadn’t played since posting a plus-minus rating of minus-20 during 11 first-half minutes in Chicago’s 111-101 loss at Indiana on Dec. 30.
Rondo, an eight-year star with the Celtics, said his diminished role with the Bulls wasn’t what he was expecting when he signed a $28 million, two-year contract in July.
“Depends on how you guys write it,” Rondo said. “But yeah, it’s different. When I signed here, why I wanted to come here, it’s a lot different than what I anticipated. … It’s out of my control really, what they have going on. So got to go out there and play better.”
Rondo’s debut season in Chicago started spiraling downward when he was suspended one game by the team for verbally arguing with assistant coach Jim Boylen during a Dec. 3 loss to the Mavericks. The controversy escalated when he was caught on camera throwing a towel at Boylen during a timeout.
A day after the initial benching, Rondo again didn’t see the court during the Bulls’ Dec. 31 loss to the Bucks and told reporters he would propose a trade if he continued to sit, according to ESPN. The 30-year-old point guard met with general manager Gar Forman and executive vice president John Paxson after the game, a talk he dismissed as having no “clear-cut” message, but said Tuesday he has not spoken with them since.
Hoiberg spoke to the media before Rondo made his comments and said the veteran would be the first man off the bench Tuesday for the short-handed Bulls. Chicago was without leading scorers Jimmy Butler (ill) and Dwyane Wade (resting), and forward Nikola Mirotic was also out with an illness.
He averaged 7.2 points, 7.1 assists and 6.5 rebounds over 29 games before falling out of favor.
— with AP