Rajon Rondo can be himself again with Mavericks

Beyond the bluster and the aspirations and even the chemistry concerns, there's this: Rajon Rondo can be Rajon Rondo again.

It took a trade away from the Boston Celtics, the only team he'd ever laced up for, to breathe new life into the NBA's most interesting point guard. And as the Dallas Mavericks trot out Rondo for the first time Saturday night, we'll see a familiar but nearly forgotten face in new clothes.

The five-player trade between the Celtics and Mavericks brought to question the real value of Rondo, which is to say the real value of the player leading the NBA in assists but also toiling away, often listlessly, for a bad team. No, Rondo hasn't looked the same since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in January 2013. But he also lost his Hall of Fame support team, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, in that span as Boston launched a rebuilding effort that seems more vital by the minute.

And here's Mark Cuban and Dirk Nowitzki and Rick Carlisle and Monta Ellis and the light at the end of the tunnel. Rondo can return to being the facilitator, the championship-caliber point guard. He has help, enough at least to sate his notorious killer instinct.

"This is how my mentality has been since I've been in the league. I was fortunate enough to play with Hall of Famers and Doc Rivers," Rondo said at his introductory Mavericks news conference Friday. "Now to get back to that situation, to play with a great coach and a team that's ready to contend for a title, I'm fired up and ready to go."

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And it's easy to believe him. Rondo hasn't been himself lately, after all. Here's a point guard once renowned for his efficiency — he shot 48.8% while playing with Garnett on the Celtics — who struggled to handle the overload, shooting 40.4% the past two seasons without Garnett and Pierce. The Lone Star State, then, saves him of that fate. Rondo also has turned the ball over more on the dribble than he had in the past, a sign of over-dribbling around less experienced teammates.

With Dallas, he'll be able to run his usual offense. Nowitzki is an ideal pick-and-pop partner, while Ellis and Chandler Parsons should thrive with the open shots they get from Rondo's pinpoint passing. And the defense that once earned Rondo his chance on the court as point guard for Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen's championship team in 2008? After frustration and injury led to a slip, it's easy to see Rondo rising to the occasion again with some motivation and help.

"I take pride in defense, and with a guy like Tyson Chandler behind me, he's going to make me look better than I have," Rondo said.

This isn't a perfect marriage. Rondo acknowledged that he'll have to back off his ball-dominating style to allow Ellis some freedom. His penchant for keeping his dribble late into shot clocks may not be as welcomed on a team of offensive-minded stars, other than Chandler. And the trade to land Rondo cost the Mavs two valuable backups, sixth man Brandan Wright and high-energy small forward Jae Crowder.

And there's a lot on the line. Rondo is a free agent after this season, so any missteps could turn this trade into a disaster for the Mavericks, who clearly have faith in their ability to re-sign the four-time All-Star.

"We're past the days of a rent-a-player," said Cuban, the NBA's most vocal owner. "We've got to do everything we can to convince him he wants to be here. ... Him side by side with Monta and Chandler, there's no one guy who can be the cornerstone of the team."

But there's something to this, something that could work out really well for all involved.

Carlisle, among the NBA's most highly regarded coaches, compared Rondo to Jason Kidd, his point guard for the 2011 NBA championship run. Kidd was an athletic passing marvel, much like Rondo, in his early days. But he developed a shot that allowed him to function off the ball, particularly when he wrapped up his best days with the Mavericks.

"Rajon is a younger guy — at 28, he's one of the youngest on our team," Carlisle said. "But I see him as a guy who hasn't finished developing his game."

And that's the thing: Argue all you want about what Rondo has put on the court over the past two seasons. It hasn't been pretty; Wright probably had been the better player for the first half of this season. But he fills a major need for the Mavericks at point guard, where the Western Conference is stacked already. And he'll grow into the system, particularly if he's showing patience.

"I don't feel like I have to prove anything," Rondo said.

And with that mentality, a forgotten star may shine again.