DeMarcus Cousins thinks Rajon Rondo should be Kentucky's next head coach
John Calipari still has to officially accept Arkansas’ reported five-year offer from Arkansas, but once that happens, UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart will have several coaching candidates already in mind.
Could Rajon Rondo be on the shortlist? DeMarcus Cousins believes he should be.
“I think the perfect hire for UK at this point would be Rajon Rondo,” Cousins said Monday on Bully Ball. “I honestly think Rajon would be the perfect guy for this situation. Obviously, he’s a Kentucky kid. He played at Kentucky, he’s an alumni.”
Rondo, who has mentioned in the past his desire to be a coach one day, officially announced his retirement from basketball last week, freeing him up for an opportunity such as this. He’s also currently living in Lexington as he finishes his degree at the University of Kentucky.
Cousins, who played at Kentucky under Calipari in 2009-10 before playing 11 years in the NBA, even said he’d suit up as Rondo’s assistant.
“He understands both sides, probably better than anybody else ever will,” Cousins added. “And I think putting Rajon in that position, he’s gonna bring great energy moving forward, he’s great at creating a standard, he’s great at leading the ship. I don’t think there’s a better leader to lead Kentucky out of this spot than a Rajon Rondo.”
Rondo’s on-court legacy is borderline Hall of Fame worthy. A native of Louisville, he spent two seasons with the Kentucky Wildcats from 2004-06, making the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2005. His 87 steals as a rookie remain the program’s single-season record. As a sophomore, the 6-foot-1 point guard averaged 11.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game before heading off to the NBA.
After being selected with the 21st overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Rondo went on to enjoy a 16-year professional career while being named an All-Star four times. He spent most of his career with the Boston Celtics but also saw stints with the Mavericks, Kings, Bulls, Pelicans, Lakers, Hawks, Clippers, and Cavaliers.
Rondo’s best stretch as a pro ran from 2009-13 when he earned all four of his All-Star Game nominations. He averaged 12.4 points, 10.8 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.1 steals in 37 minutes per outing during that four-year span, and was even a top 10 MVP candidate in 2011 and 2012.
But how would all that translate into a coaching position? Especially if that job is at Kentucky and is his first go-around as a head coach? If we’re being honest with ourselves, probably not all that smoothly. We just saw at Louisville what happens when a program hires one of its former players as a rookie head coach.
There are also the legal issues that Rondo has faced over the last couple of years. In 2022, he was accused of pulling a gun on the mother of his children, although the domestic violence case was ultimately dismissed. Then, back in January, he was arrested in Indiana on gun and drug charges.
Nobody is denying Rondo’s basketball genius, but what Kentucky needs to kickstart the post-John Calipari era is an established coach with a track record of winning.
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