There was a time John Calipari made a push to hire Rajon Rondo to his staff at Kentucky, hoping to put him on the bench next to Tyler Ulis to get help from two of the most brilliant basketball minds in program history. He got Ulis, but the best Rondo could give was his ‘listening ear’ as a mentor to the Wildcats a season ago.
The 16-year pro and four-time All-Star hadn’t officially retired as a player and was focused on finishing his degree in Lexington, non-committal about getting into coaching just yet. He’d help, but not in an official capacity.
“I can’t wait to see them, can’t wait to get my hands on them,” Rondo told KSR. “I’m going to try to give them input however I can. Coach Cal actually called me right before I got here, I told him I’m just happy to be around and be a listening ear for these young guys.”
Rondo then retired as a player this past April before joining Ulis’ bench with La Familia for The Basketball Tournament this summer . Now, he’s ready to get his coaching career started, joining Doc Rivers in Milwaukee as a ‘guest coach’ during training camp and will stick around with the Bucks in an ‘unspecified capacity’ in 2024-25, according to ESPN.
“You’ll see him a lot,” Rivers said. “That’s all I’ll say.”
Rocking Bucks gear while assisting in practice and writing notes with player observations, Rondo says it’s time to give coaching a shot — something that has to come organically for a recently-retired world champion who still gets the itch from time to time to get out there and hoop.
“There’s a lot of factors that go into coaching,” Rondo told ESPN. “You just can’t say, I’m going to be a coach, and then everything works out and that’s how it happens. So certain personalities have to mesh, [and there’s] a lot of sacrifice. There are certain things that I’m learning. The morning meetings, the amount of hours you’re spending watching film, it’s a lot. …
“You see people go from not coaching to head-coaching jobs all the time. A lot of people go straight to becoming assistant coaches. So there’s just no path. I just want to seek as much information as possible.”
Rivers, who coached Rondo for seven years with the Boston Celtics, is excited to have his former point guard around sharing words of wisdom with the players in Milwaukee as they pursue another championship.
“He’s the smartest player I’ve ever coached — and not just smart,” Rivers told ESPN. “He knows when to and when not to say stuff. He’s a great team builder. It’s just fun, and it’s great to have him around.”
It appears Big Blue Nation’s dream of adding Rondo to the Kentucky staff will have to wait. Maybe he can replace Mark Pope in a decade or two when the new guy in charge is ready to call it a career?
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