Wallace on Rondo: "He's the type of teammate that everyone would want"

MassLive.com



Gerald Wallace on Boston Celtics star Rajon Rondo: 'He’s the type of teammate that everybody would want'

Boston Celtics forward Gerald Wallace, center, grabs a rebound between Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) and forward Maurice Harkless, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, in Boston, Monday, Nov. 11, 2013. The Celtics defeated the Magic 120-105. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

By Jay King, MassLive.com 
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on March 03, 2014 at 11:50 AM

Gerald Wallace undergoes successful surgeries: Boston Celtics small forward out for seasonJared Sullinger: Boston Celtics following Brad Stevens' lead, will not quitBrad Stevens likes makeup of Boston Celtics: 'Not necessarily world-beaters but great guys, great teammates'Is Gerald Wallace misunderstood? Reflecting on veteran's first season with Boston CelticsGerald Wallace on Boston Celtics star Rajon Rondo: 'He’s the type of teammate that everybody would want'

Over the past couple of weeks, the Boston media has spent a lot of time dissecting Rajon Rondo's character. I don't want to do any more of that. I just want to point you toward Gerald Wallace's comments about his captain.

Speaking to the Boston Herald's Steve Bulpett, Wallace said he admires that Rondo is "real" and believes Rondo is "that cocky guy that you want on your side, that you want to go to war with."

“He’s the type of teammate that everybody would want — that everybody should want,” Wallace told the Herald. “He cares about losing. It hurts him to lose.

“As competitive as he is and the way he’s going, he’s at that level where he’s totally into it.”

With all of the backlash Rondo has experienced for missing the Sacramento trip for a birthday party (he wasn't going to play in the game anyway), it might bear noting that Kevin Garnett considers the All-Star point guard like a brother. And KG's the type of guy who would rather jump into a swimming pool of nails than have a bad influence in his locker room.

Anyway, go check out the rest of Wallace's comments. They're worth a read.



bob


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Tuesday, March 4, 2014



Gerald Wallace: Celtics have real asset in Rajon Rondo





Monday, March 3, 2014


By:  Steve Bulpett



Gerald Wallace has seen Rajon Rondo from all sides. He’s watched him from an opponent’s perspective; he’s seen him as a teammate with the Celtics.

Wallace has seen Rondo dive on the floor for a loose ball just as he would, and he’s seen him sweat the small stuff in a way he never would.

And he thinks it’s all worth it.

As he prepares to undergo season ending surgery on his left knee and ankle tomorrow, Wallace offered an inside and unvarnished view of Rondo that most are either unable or unwilling to provide. And where some on the outside and even a few teammates (a Mr. Ray Allen on Line 1) find him unnecessarily difficult, Wallace sees an honesty.

“I think you’ve got to be your own person,” Wallace said. “I think that’s what makes him so special. You don’t want him to change. I think the main thing is you don’t want him to be fake. You want what you get from him to be real. And I think as much as he’s a pain in the (butt) sometimes, it’s real.

“I’ve gotten to know him and really understand him. It’s just his competitiveness and his will to fight and want to win. . . . He doesn’t like to lose, and that’s the type of guy that you want to play with.”

The past few years have seen several Celtics acquisitions come to appreciate Rondo after thinking him a jerk from the other side. But Wallace wanted what he saw — and he got it.

“From what I’d seen and what I’d played against, and then being here and being with him, it’s kind of exactly what I expected,” Wallace said. “I mean, you see his competitiveness, his fire, his will to fight out on the court. As an opponent, when you see guys like that getting into that scuffle with (then-Nets property and now C’s teammate Kris) Humphries last year — when you see guys like that, it kind of makes you want to play with them. You kind of want to see if they’re really like that, you know what I’m saying? And he’s every bit of that, 100 percent. He’s competitive. He competes at everything.

“I mean, he’s that cocky guy that you want on your side, that you want to go to war with. You may have some doubts about what kind of person he is until you get with him, and I think he’s everything that I thought he was from playing against him on the court.”

As for how Rondo will be seen in marketing terms as the Celtics try to attract free agents in their rebuilding process, Wallace believes he will be a good salesman for the kind of player the team should be after.

“He’s the type of teammate that everybody would want — that everybody should want,” Wallace said. “He cares about losing. It hurts him to lose.

“As competitive as he is and the way he’s going, he’s at that level where he’s totally into it.”

Turning toward Rondo’s media encounters, Wallace added, “When you’re like that and you lose a game, you don’t really want to talk. It’s nothing against you guys or anything, but it’s just a lot of pain, a lot of hurt, a lot of questioning yourself on what you could have did better, how you could have helped the team to win.

“That’s the type of guy that you want to go to war with, the type of guy that doesn’t just laugh off a loss. He takes it to the heart and he wears his heart on his sleeve.”

And the fact that Rondo’s heart — and the rest of his body — were not in Sacramento nine days ago is, Wallace suggests, of no consequence in the long run. The 13-year veteran does not see Rondo’s birthday excursion as a threat to his Celtics leadership.

“I don’t think so, because what you do off the court kind of weighs on some people on how you are as a leader and what you do, but I think the most important thing that people look at, and the way I was raised is, you know, what you do on the court — how you compete,” said Wallace, who, like his mates, was aware that Rondo wasn’t scheduled to play against the Kings anyway. “If you’re fighting to win, that’s what gets guys behind you.

“When we’re on the court, we’re five guys together, a whole team together. When we’re off the court, we can be individuals. You know, you do your own thing and I do my own thing. It’s what you do on the court that makes me want to follow you. If you’re fighting and diving and scrapping for things, I want to follow you. That’s the kind of leader you want.

“So maybe he should or maybe he shouldn’t with his personal life, but that’s hispersonal life. Everybody has their own. All I know is that when I’m on the court, that’s the kind of guy I want out there with me. The rest don’t mean anything.”



bob


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Nice that Wallace would issue comments that are constructive, and I'm sure he's right.

Sam

Next we'll see several knucklehead columnists write articles on how Wallace wants Rondo traded because they interpreted the statement to mean every OTHER team would want.

I find it interesting that the only people that really talk negatively about Rondo are the media types, never the players nor coaches or GMs.


KJ

KJ,

Where would most of the media be without negativity, conflict, sensationalism, misfortune, misery, floods, poverty, starvation, and pestilence upon which to prey? With a lot of them, it doesn't matter whether their glasses are half full or half empty; what matters is that what's in their glasses is 90 proof.

Sam

sam wrote:KJ,

Where would most of the media be without negativity, conflict, sensationalism, misfortune, misery, floods, poverty, starvation, and pestilence upon which to prey?  With a lot of them, it doesn't matter whether their glasses are half full or half empty; what matters is that what's in their glasses is 90 proof.

Sam

sam,

Think people watch NASCAR because they like to watch cars make left turns for 2 hours?  They're hoping to see a crash.  It's "the human condition".  At least the media get paid to do it. If they enjoy their job too that puts them way ahead of most Americans.



bob


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bobheckler wrote:

sam wrote:KJ,

Where would most of the media be without negativity, conflict, sensationalism, misfortune, misery, floods, poverty, starvation, and pestilence upon which to prey?  With a lot of them, it doesn't matter whether their glasses are half full or half empty; what matters is that what's in their glasses is 90 proof.

Sam

sam,

Think people watch NASCAR because they like to watch cars make left turns for 2 hours?  They're hoping to see a crash.  It's "the human condition".  At least the media get paid to do it.  If they enjoy their job too that puts them way ahead of most Americans.



bob


.

Bob,

Really good point.

When you think about it, there are those that get paid for what we do here for entertainment.  I love my profession and what I do, but the thought that I could possibly get paid to watch games and then write or talk about it never hit me as a youngster.

Imagine, getting paid to go to a game and then talk about your opinion of what you saw.  Something we all gladly pay out to do.

Note to the young:  Do what you love and the money will follow.  I gotta go talk to my son about this 'cause I think Bob Costas and Jim Nantz are doing OK.

Regards

Of course it's wonderful to love our jobs. I love my current Chamber of Commerce job, which is like playing golf for a living. But I like to think that, when confronted with going out of my way to help someone and taking the easy route instead, I do the former rather than stooping to a level equivalent to what I call "easy news" in the media realm. Of course there are fine journalists, and I've known and mentioned more than a few on this forum. I'm talking about the others. They know who they are. They just don't care.

Sam