Rondo rips Butler, Wade for blaming tough loss on Bulls teammates

CHICAGO, USA – Chicago Bulls stars Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler blasted their teammates in the wake of an embarrassing home loss this week, but their criticism provoked a strong response Thursday, January 26 from backup guard Rajon Rondo.

Butler scored 40 points and Wade added 33 in a 119-114 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday in which the Hawks erased a 10-point deficit in the waning minutes.

“I don’t know if I see enough guys who really want it,” said Wade, who won 3 NBA championships with the Miami Heat before joining Chicago as a free agent prior to this season.

“Losses like this, it has to hurt them. I’m 35 years old, man. I got 3 championships. It shouldn’t hurt me more than it hurts these young guys. They have to want it.

“I wish that I could say that everyone in here is going to go home and not eat tonight,” Wade said. “I can’t say that. I wish I could, but I don’t know if it hurts. Games like this are supposed to hurt you. You’re not supposed to sleep. You don’t want to go up and talk to nobody. These games are supposed to hurt. I don’t know if it’s in the guys in this locker room.”

Butler, 27, was no less scathing after the game.

“We weren’t guarding anybody, doing whatever we wanted to do, and we lost,” Butler said after his fifth game with at least 40 points this season. 

“Story of our year. Over and over. Same thing. It’s not the first time we’ve seen this. It’s not the first time we’ve done it.”

(READ: Cavs slump sparks mid-season drama for NBA champions)

Rondo, who won an NBA title with the Boston Celtics in 2010 and joined the Bulls prior to this season, responded via an Instagram post.

“My vets would never go to the media,” Rondo said in a post that included a picture of himself with former Celtics teammates Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. 

“When we lost, they wouldn’t blame us. They took responsibility and got in the gym. They showed the young guys what it meant to work.”

My vets would never go to the media. They would come to the team. My vets didn’t pick and choose when they wanted to bring it. They brought it every time they stepped in the gym whether it was practice or a game. They didn’t take days off. My vets didn’t care about their numbers. My vets played for the team. When we lost, they wouldn’t blame us. They took responsibility and got in the gym. They showed the young guys what it meant to work. Even in Boston when we had the best record in the league, if we lost a game, you could hear a pin drop on the bus. They showed us the seriousness of the game. My vets didn’t have an influence on the coaching staff. They couldn’t change the plan because it didn’t work for them. I played under one of the greatest coaches, and he held everyone accountable. It takes 1-15 to win. When you isolate everyone, you can’t win consistently. I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a bad teammate. My goal is to pass what I learned along. The young guys work. They show up. They don’t deserve blame. If anything is questionable, it’s the leadership.

A photo posted by Rajon Rondo (@rajonrondo) on Jan 26, 2017 at 3:03pm PST

Rondo said it was unfair to blame the team’s less experienced players.

“The young guys work,” he wrote. “They show up. They don’t deserve blame. If anything is questionable, it’s the leadership.”

The Bulls, winners of 6 NBA titles in the 1990s era of league legend Michael Jordan, have not made it past the second round of the playoffs since 2011. – Rappler.com