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Rajon Rondo doesn’t regret $35,000 fine for ‘unsportsmanlike contact’ with Dennis Schroder, felt referee Ed Malloy was ‘disrespectful’ to him

Lakers guard Rajon Rondo avoided a suspension for his actions in the team’s win against the Thunder, but did walk away with a hefty fine.

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NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Lakers Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo got kicked out of the team’s win on Friday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder after committing a Flagrant Foul 2 against Dennis Schroder, but it was not immediately clear if he would face further consequences for his actions.

On Saturday we got our answer, as the NBA announced that Rondo was being fined $35,000 for “unsportsmanlike physical contact with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schroder, verbal abuse of a game official, and failing to leave the court in a timely manner upon his ejection.”

Oh, so that’s all.

After the game last night, Lakers Head Coach Frank Vogel told reporters that he “didn’t really see” Rondo’s altercation with Schroder, while LeBron James said he “didn’t think it called for an ejection.” Rondo himself didn’t really want to talk about incident with Schroder, after the game...

...but he changed his tune after receiving his fine on Saturday:

Well, that may be another fine!

Anyway, while it was always unlikely that the NBA would suspend Rondo for his actions, him officially avoiding such consequences is still good news for the Lakers, who are light on guard depth with Avery Bradley being out until at least Friday, and Alex Caruso set to miss the team’s game against the Grizzlies on Saturday night:

With those two missing more time, Rondo avoiding any further incidents is obviously better for the team, as if he can’t play and Caruso continues to deal with his calf injury, that would leave the Lakers with just Quinn Cook and Troy Daniels as their point-guard-sized players on the roster, and very little ballhandling to ease the creation load on LeBron. That’s not a concern yet with Rondo still in the lineup, but he should probably avoid any more “unsportsmanlike” incidents for now.

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