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This year marks the first time since 2006 that the camp has run. Some of the top players in high school competed over three days in front of NBA scouts and executives from all 30 teams. There were also some NBA legacy kids in attendance like Pierre Rondo (Rajon Rondo) and RJ Evans (Reggie Evans). Rajon was like any typical dad, taking pictures and videos on his phone of Pierre during drills and scrimmages. RJ Evans is one of the top players in the 2029 high school class and was a top performer of the camp, coming off a strong AAU season on the adidas 3SSB circuit. “I’ve heard the stories of this camp growing up, and it’s just cool to come out here and be included in the first one back in 20 years,” Evans said. “I’m one of the younger guys here, so I just want to go out and cook and show that I’m one of the best players in the country.”
Mikel Brown Jr.: "I really didn't have a favorite player. If you would say that I had a favorite player growing up, I was a big Bron guy just because he's the greatest. Besides Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan is my GOAT in my book. But yeah, I mean, I learned from all the guards and all the greats. You too, obviously. Like you guys, I can learn a lot from. Your footwork. I think both of you all have tremendous footwork. So trying to take that away from you all. Then you go to the guards. I was a big Steve Nash guy growing up. Big Rajon Rondo guy and a big CP3 guy growing up."
Mikel Brown Jr.: “I don't think he [Rajon Rondo] gets enough credit. And I was fortunate enough to have him as a mentor this year. He was in Louisville, invited me to his crib and we watched some film together. Played a little bit of chess.I got to pick his brain a lot this year. Watch film with him… You know, people view him as very smart, which he is very smart, but he just like to me, he just broke the game down in just such a simple way.”
And even though he is now a veteran in the league in his own right, he still views James and Rondo from those years as the most influential teammates he’s ever had. “I’d say probably Bron or Rondo,” Kuzma said in an appearance on the White Noise podcast. “[LeBron] got so much money that you just see a certain type of life that is maybe not attainable because not everybody can be a billionaire, but it’s like a North Star to you. Like this guy’s got a lot of motion and there’s other things off the court where it’s like, I actually can do more and you just gotta put your mind to it. “And then Rondo because he’s just so sophisticated, so smart basketball-wise. He’s like a savant, it like made you wanna pick up your acumen. He would call sometimes after a game at like 3 a.m., ‘Yo, what you doing?’ Like ‘I’m in bed.’ He’s like ‘Yo, turn the game on, go to 8:10 in the third quarter. What are you thinking here?’ And that’s like motivating, you know?”
Shamit Dua: There really hasn't been any updates for the Pelicans search at the moment. The team is still evaluating and to my understanding the 5 names under consideration at this moment in time are: Borrego Ham Hetzel Mosley Rondo
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According to sources close to the search, Borrego is one of the four candidates who have emerged as the front runners to land the job. He joins a list that includes Rajon Rondo, Steve Hetzel and Darvin Ham. The best guess here is Rondo and Hetzel are at the top of the list.
“I know I can do it now,” Rondo told The Athletic in March when asked if he thought he was ready to be a head coach. “I have the discipline, preparation and, obviously, it’s about having the right people around you. I feel like I know who I am, and I know the people I can trust in this business for the most part. “I’ve had a lot of great mentors, a lot of people rooting for me. I definitely think I’ll be ready to go.”
In his second season with the Bucks, Rondo was given the opportunity to be far more active by working out a role that allowed him to sit behind the bench with the team when he attended games — rather than sitting in the stands as he did in his first season. That improved access gave Rondo the chance to be a part of the action as it unfolded and have conversations with players and coaches on the bench. “Nothing beats being able to be around the game, having my input on the game, being behind the bench and being around the coaching staff,” Rondo said. “There’s a lot of great knowledge, a lot of great coaches, over 100 years of coaching experience in that locker room. “For me, it’s like, what I’m doing for Ryan, I’m trying to get those coaches to do for me. I’m a sponge. I’m taking notes. I’m asking a lot of questions, and I’m sitting quietly observing.”
With so many experienced coaches around him, Rondo was given a spectacular opportunity in Milwaukee to observe how to do the job, but he also asked questions. “He has a trait that every aspiring, currently active or former coach should have, and that’s being inquisitive,” Darvin Ham told The Athletic. “He’s very curious to learn the process of things, what triggers certain actions, what triggers certain reactions on both sides of the ball. “He knows the game, but the art of trying to teach it so the players can comprehend it, that’s the part he’s picking up. The preparation process, how it goes from paper to film to actual on-court methods to after game time, and then, boom, rinse and repeat, so to speak. He’s been great, man. He’s just very intuitive, really asking questions.”
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After Rondo served two seasons as a coaching associate, some NBA teams are wondering if he is prepared to make a Rollins-like jump himself and become a head coach. The New Orleans Pelicans have been the most aggressive in that pursuit, as team sources confirmed to The Athletic that Rondo interviewed for their open head coaching job last week and remains in consideration for the position. “I know I can do it now,” Rondo told The Athletic in March when asked if he thought he was ready to be a head coach. “I have the discipline, preparation and, obviously, it’s about having the right people around you. I feel like I know who I am, and I know the people I can trust in this business for the most part.
As Rondo continues to grow as a coach, Rivers said that Rondo has taken special interest in getting a better understanding of how to navigate the interpersonal dynamics of coaching. Keeping the locker room focused on achieving goals while also being able to discipline players or adjust playing times or roles of certain players can be incredibly difficult for some coaches. “The biggest elements of coaching are your patience and persistence, and you gotta pick your spots,” Ham said about his explanation of being an NBA coach to Rondo. “It’s not college. You’re not dealing with amateurs. You can’t come in every day and scream your way through practices. “You have to slow down, really articulate each and every detail of what you’re trying to extract from your group on both sides of the ball.”
The New Orleans Pelicans interviewed three coaches last week for their head coaching position, a source confirmed to The Times-Picayune Monday afternoon. The three candidates who were interviewed last week were Rajon Rondo, Steve Hetzel and Darvin Ham.
League sources say Rondo has been interviewed for the post after serving as a special assistant on Doc Rivers' Milwaukee staff. Rondo is said to have felt his first coaching itch while recovering from a torn ACL as a Celtic, prompting Brad Stevens to bring him into staff meetings.
