Rajon Rondo Withdraws From Team USA: Let's Not Regret This in the Future

Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo suddenly withdrew his name from consideration for Team USA's FIBA World Championship roster early Tuesday due to a personal hunch that he would be the last player cut.

The move was rather surprising, given the fact that Rondo had started recent scrimmages against France and Lithuania, the latter of which was on August 21. The next day, however, Rondo rode the bench for the entirety of Team USA's scrimmage against Spain, one of the top international teams.

It was assumed that Derrick Rose had been given the starting position, as he started and played 32 minutes in the scrimmage against Spain. What surprised Rondo even more, however, was that it seemed he had dropped to third on the point guard depth chart behind Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook.

By withdrawing from the team, Rondo essentially made the final cut for the coaches, as his move left Team USA with the requisite 12-member squad that will scrimmage Greece in Athens on Wednesday night before traveling to Turkey to play in the World Championships which start Saturday.

Rondo made a name for himself in the 2010 NBA Playoffs, where he was able to use his creativity to create shots for himself and his teammates while recording two triple-doubles in leading the Celtics to the Finals.

Rondo's ability to navigate through traffic and find an open player 180 degrees from his line of sight has made him one of the premier point guards in the NBA, but his game had not translated nearly as effectively on the international stage.

In his final scrimmage vs. Lithuania, after which Rondo believes the coaches deemed him expendable, Rondo managed only two points and one assist while turning the ball over four times.

Rose, Rondo's replacement as floor general, was not exactly lighting up the stat sheet either. The two posted similar stat lines in the France and Lithuania scrimmages while playing similar minutes. In the Spain scrimmage, Rose scored 13 points and dished out three assists. But he also turned the ball over five times.

If keeping possession of the ball is coach Mike Krzyzewski's motivation behind supplanting Rondo with Rose, let's hope that the Chicago Bulls point guard can take better care of the ball at the World Championships.

One of the main knocks on Rondo, in the NBA and in international competition, is his inability to knock down jump shots and free throws with regular consistency. In the two scrimmages he played in, Rondo was 4-for-7 from the field and attempted neither a three-pointer nor a free throw.

Rose, on the other hand, went a combined 7-for-20 from the field in the three scrimmages, 1-for-3 from behind the arc and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. In those games, his assist-to-turnover ratio was an even 1.0 with nine of each.

Westbrook, now definitely second on the depth chart, was 9-for-14 from the field, 2-for-3 from three and 2-for-2 from the line while dishing out one more assist than turnover. His play has been a pleasant surprise for Team USA, and his play has been rewarded with increasingly important minutes since the start of training camp.

If the decision to bench Rondo was indeed a sign by the coaches that he was going to be cut, Rose will have to improve his assist to turnover ratio and Westbrook must continue flourishing in the international game for the move to be considered a success.

However, no matter how explosive Rose and Westbrook may be with the ball, let's hope we don't regret letting one of the most creative players in recent memory walk away from Team USA.