Los Angeles Lakers: Rajon Rondo has issue with Stephen A. Smith!!!!
By Ronald Agers
Los Angeles Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo is not a fan of some stuff that Stephen A. Smith has said.
The Los Angeles Lakers have experience dealing with high-profile personalities on and off the court. LaVar Ball has made plenty of noise recently, but now he has some competition from Stephen A. Smith.
Stephen A. Smith has a new enemy, folks! His name? Rajon Rondo. Can’t the Lakers just win a game without something ridiculous and unnecessary happening? How about without Rajon Rondo starting yet another controversy?
I have been writing for Lake Show life for a few months. I’ve been playing basketball all my life and for the life of me I can’t figure out what Rajon Rondo’s problem is.
Well, it seems that Rajon Rondo had an issue with Stephen A. Smith’s opinions on the length of the suspension that the NBA gave out for the fight that happened with Chris Paul a few weeks back.
Lake Show Life was all over the incident…first the game.
and a follow-up opinion piece…
Social media and the comment section really blew up over this incident. Most people thought that Brandon Ingram went straight gangster (that is until they turned on him and now they want him traded) while the NBA world tried to figure out what set everything off.
While Chris Paul said that Rondo spat in his face, Rondo denied it. Well, with the power of this new invention that we have now called HD video replay, Rondo was seen with some moisture that is universally known as spit coming out of his mouth.
After the incident, Chris Paul made a statement and disappeared for a few days. Brandon Ingram disappeared as well after showing his remorse and relief over the incident and the four-game suspension. Chris Paul got two games for his part and Rondo got three.
Unlike the other two players, Rondo kept the fires going…talking about Chris Paul and how bad a teammate he was…
Which leads up to this…
According to Stephen A. Smith, Rajon Rondo had some colorful words directed to him after the Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves a couple of nights ago…
Here’s an excerpt of Smith’s comment…
"“As an aside, I just wanted, if you don’t mind, I just wanted to deviate away from this particular subject. I wanted to start off the show saying something — when I was in the Lakers locker room last night, Mr. Rondo directed a very disrespectful comment my way. He didn’t say it by name. I was standing right next to him. I just kept my head down because out of respect to the Los Angeles Lakers as an organization, I didn’t want to make a scene. So, I just left it at that. I just want Rondo to know I know that. Number 1. And Number 2 — I stand by my proclamation that he deserved a 15-game suspension for spitting in the face of Chris Paul. And last but not least, I just want to say out of respect for him, I would remind him … I never said anything about why he left Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Sacramento, it goes on and on. I’ll just leave it at that.“Anytime he wants to have a big man conversation, I’m more than willing to have a conversation because I do respect him.”"
I do too. I mean Rondo’s signing was not popular…at all. I liked the signing and mentioned it here…
I did mention the Boston, Chicago, Dallas and Sacramento stuff though. But, I had to be thorough in the article. That is my job. Just like Smith was doing in his when he stated his opinion about the suspensions. He has a sports talk show on ESPN with about say…four hours to fill five days a week. Then he goes on the radio. People tune in to see what he has to say about sports stories that are hot at the time.
I do not know what Rajon Rondo is so angry about. Everybody thought all parties involved got off light. In fact, I had to chase down my editors to make changes based on the number of games each received. Stephen A. Smith basically said what everyone was thinking. Everybody thought that Rondo and Paul would get that many games.
But this is a bigger issue. Being in the media is not an easy thing to do. There is a lot of preparation and research that goes into writing, radio, TV etc. Plus, you have to find that fine line of credibility, trust and respect from not only fans but the athletes that are covered as well.
Sometimes, it can get you into trouble like Bruce Bowen, who was fired for criticizing potential Lakers and Clippers free agent Kawhi Leonard for the way Leonard handled the trade situation in San Antonio.
I believe that Stephen A. Smith did hold back in a sense on going full blast on Rajon Rondo. Why? Because he really could have filled four hours on the way he has handled himself on and off the court over his career with the teams Smith mentioned. Plus, he probably does respect what Rondo has done in his career.
But there is a trend going on here with Rajon Rondo that he may need to address. He is at the end of his career, playing on his fourth one-year deal currently with the Lakers. Inside of a month, he has provided two years worth of drama. This is not a way that an All-Star, NBA champion should go out.
Hey Rajon, this is from a fan…stay healthy, play basketball, help the Lakers win and start looking at the big picture. The battle you are fighting is a losing one in the end.
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