Report: Cavs member partly blamed Rajon Rondo for why Darius Garland was ‘drained’ by end of season

A recent report indicated that the Cleveland Cavaliers are unlikely to re-sign veteran guard Rajon Rondo, who is currently embroiled in some shocking domestic abuse allegations.

Those allegations aside, the Cavs seem to have some pretty legitimate reasons why they wouldn’t want to bring Rondo back.

According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, one member of the Cavs organization pointed to Rondo’s slow recovery from an ankle sprain and sprained toe during the season as one of the reasons why All-Star guard Darius Garland seemed to be physically and mentally exhausted by the end of the 2021-22 campaign.

“The Cavs acquired Rondo — a 16-year NBA veteran — shortly after backup point guard Ricky Rubio was lost for the season because of a torn ACL,” he wrote. “Rondo was expected to help fill the on-court void and bring some much-needed stability to the second unit. But he played in just 21 of a possible 45 games because of a sprained toe followed by an ankle sprain. One member of the organization pointed to Rondo’s slower-than-expected recovery as a reason why All-Star guard Darius Garland was physically and mentally drained by the end of the season.”

The Cavs have a lot of goals this offseason, and one of them is definitely finding a veteran guard who can serve as relief for Garland on the court as well as be a mentor to continue the young All-Star’s growth. Based on certain reports, it seems like the Cavs would love for Ricky Rubio to reprise his role that was cut short by injury this season.

If Rubio doesn’t end up rejoining, the Cavs may have to look elsewhere. Based on everything that is coming out of Cleveland right now, it seems more than likely that Rondo will not be that player.