These Bulls are still showing their horns.
Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler aren’t backing down after questioning the Bulls’ desire, and Rajon Rondo isn’t issuing any retractions for firing back at them.
Rondo said Friday he “absolutely” felt he needed to defend the younger players after Wade and Butler teed off on the team following the Bulls’ rough loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. He did just that Thursday while calling out the two stars on Instagram.
All three players were fined but not suspended by the team. Butler and Wade will not start Friday night’s home game against the Heat as part of their punishment.
“It’s not that we don’t like each other. Some things came out that shouldn’t have,” Rondo said, via the team’s Twitter account. “We should have addressed this as men, face to face, in the locker room.
“When you express yourself and get everything out, it makes relationships better. When you communicate, you understand each other.”
Wade insisted Friday he has “no issue, no problems” with Rondo. He also made it clear he has no regrets about his comments, shaking his head no.
“I want this team to reach their potential. Hopefully we are taking steps as a team to get there,” Wade said.
Butler said, “I think we’ll get better from this. I’m smiling today. We are blessed to do what we love every day.”
Rondo’s post accompanied a photo of him with former Boston Celtics teammates Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Rondo, apparently referring to Garnett and Pierce, repeatedly used the term “my vets,” saying they would “never go to the media.” He wrote they “didn’t take days off,” that they “didn’t care about their numbers,” that they “played for the team.”
“When we lost, they wouldn’t blame us,” Rondo said. “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.”
Rondo also seemed to question coach Fred Hoiberg’s control of the team. General manager Gar Forman said the Bulls were “extremely disappointed” grievances were aired in public.
“I could take [Rondo’s Instagram post] as a personal attack. But what’s that going to do for me?” Wade said Friday, according to the Chicago Tribune. “Come in and fight Rajon because he said his vets [in Boston] practiced every day? I’m 35. I’m not practicing every day. That’s very clear.”
With AP