Chicago Sun-Times

INCIDENT REPORT

RONDO RUN- IN WITH BOYLEN SYMPTOMATI­C OF DYSFUNCTIO­NAL TEAM

- JOE COWLEY @ suntimes_ hoops

Rajon Rondo doesn’t care what you think.

The veteran guard doesn’t care what members of the media write or say. He doesn’t concern himself with talk radio or Twitter accounts.

Heck, he’s proven over the years that there are even coaches, referees, and front- office personnel that he has very little use for.

It’s not even noise for the 30- year- old at this point in his career.

“I don’t really read the papers,’’ Rondo said in his first availabili­ty since he served a one- game team suspension Monday. “I don’t have Instagram or social media, so whatever you guys write, good luck with what you’re writing. I’m going to continue to work as hard as I can to be the best player for this team and try to lead the right way.

“I’m OK with where I am in my life and what I bring to this team.’’

In this case, maybe what the team brought to him.

Last year’s Bulls were marked by dysfunctio­n. That snakebitte­n roster was broken up, but that doesn’t mean all the poison has worked its way out of the bloodstrea­m.

There’s still sniping. There’s still questionab­le allegiance­s. There’s still general manager Gar Forman.

As long as that dynamic is around, drama is sure to follow.

This is what Rondo was dropped into when he signed with the Bulls: There’s at least one assistant coach directly aligned with Forman, acting as his eyes and ears in the locker room. Randy Brown held that same double- agent status when he was an assistant GM under For- man, and Brown reported all things Tom Thibodeau to his bosses.

There’s a feeling that assistant coach Jim Boylen was too chummy with Forman last season, and that came from several players, both former and current. The players began to question Boylen’s motives Was he just having an innocent conversati­on with his boss or was he trying to undercut rookie coach

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 ?? | DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/ AP ?? Bulls guard Rajon Rondo’s run- in with assistant coach Jim Boylen is more proof that dysfunctio­n seems to follow the team around. Rondo was suspended for one game after the incident Saturday.
| DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/ AP Bulls guard Rajon Rondo’s run- in with assistant coach Jim Boylen is more proof that dysfunctio­n seems to follow the team around. Rondo was suspended for one game after the incident Saturday.
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