Retired NBA superstar Ray Allen‘s new book is out, and the future Hall of Fame shooting sensation has apparently subscribed to the popular idea of full transparency. Want to know what went on inside the Celtics star-filled locker room as they pursued redemption for the beleaguered franchise and won the NBA title in 2008? Allen was there, and he’s telling his version. NBA fans are particularly interested in the Rajon Rondo angles Allen delivers, because Rondo is a mercurial presence who has mystified even his ardent supporters. It seemed clear in 2008 that Rondo had the makings of a Hall of Fame career himself. Despite playing with the so-called Big 3 (Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce), there were times when Rondo was the most important and effective player on the floor for the Celtics.
Stories abounded about Rondo being trouble in the locker room, and GM Danny Ainge later shipped him out. Rondo has bounced around the NBA since — having a particularly toxic time in Dallas. Why? That’s what fans wondered — fans who saw Rondo rebound like he was six inches taller than he is, and unselfishly dish the rock like the most generous spirit in town. Ray Allen recounts one meeting Celtics head coach Doc Rivers ran where Rondo actually turned his chair backwards, vowing not to listen to what Coach said. Asked on the ESPN’s The Jump whether he remember Rondo’s chair turn, Paul Pierce just smiled and said that he didn’t specifically remember that. But that Rondo and Doc Rivers were always at it. And “Doc was tough on Rondo.” Rivers, Pierce said, “didn’t get on me, Kevin and Ray,” so Rondo took the brunt of it. That’s how Pierce saw it. And his chair, at least, was facing the same way as Ray Allen’s.
