Rondo talks about Melo and Love during appearance on ESPN’s “Numbers Never Lie”

Rajon Rondo made an appearance on ESPN’s “Numbers Never Lie” earlier today, with host Jemele Hill.  It wasn’t laced with typical athlete clichés, as Rondo’s public commentary rarely is.  While they discussed some of his incredible career triple-double numbers and how they rank with the likes of Magic Johnson and LeBron James, the discussion did get around to both Carmelo Anthony and yes, Kevin Love.  Hill first asked if Melo would be the missing piece that the Chicago Bulls would need to get over the hump, and he agreed.  But unprompted (much like during a recent pre-draft workout interview) he discussed the idea of Melo coming to Boston.  He basically said if he doesn’t go to the Bulls, then “we’ll have to figure something out in Boston.”  When pressed on the Melo comment, Rondo simply said he couldn’t say too much, but that they want to be a contender next year and that Danny is working on it.  Below are some other tidbits from Rondo:

• Hill told him she thinks Kevin Love would be a good fit on the Lakers, to which Rondo replied: “You’re gonna say that to my face?!?!”
• Rondo said they would still need more if they got Love, but it would be nice to have him
• His thoughts on how opponents should interact with each other: “When you’re on the court, you don’t need to shake hands or help anybody up (that aren’t your teammates)”
• Rondo said he wouldn’t be disappointed if they didn’t get Love, and would still focus on his teammates in the locker room and playing for Brad Stevens
• On his future in Boston, he said he doesn’t plan on going anywhere and wants to bring in guys to Boston that want to compete and want to win as much as he does
• He said Boston is a great city and has great fans: “They’re the greatest in the world”
• He thinks having 3 star players is enough to contend, would rather play against the best competition
• For the Heat haters, he said that LeBron should definitely have some doubts about staying in Miami based on how they played in the Finals and their cap situation
• Rondo on his PER ranking: “It’s gotta be lying, something’s wrong with the system”
• When asked to share a crazy story about KG, he told of the time some doctors were in the locker room eating the food, and KG was angry and said that players eat first because they play.  KG then proceeded to knock the plate of food out of the doctor’s hand (hmm kind of tells you where Rondo learned that temper from, eh?)

I found it very interesting that it’s the second time that Rondo has publicly dropped Melo’s name, in reference to possibly coming to Boston.  He could be just playing around and the complex scenario that would involve he and Love both coming here is headache inducing, but hey there could be something to it.  Coupled with the news of Joel Embiid injuring his foot, it was a wild afternoon.  Oh and by the way, Simmons seems to think Embiid’s agent will force him to Boston or LA now.  Not exactly sure how easy that is, but the draft and possible Love scenario have just become far more interesting.