Rondo shoots down reported rift with coach Karl

Everything is fine in Sacramento, it seems.

Point guard Rajon Rondo caused a stir Tuesday night when he told Cowbell Kingdom his relationship with head coach George Karl "wasn't going so well." Rondo gave a stone-faced delivery as he said he and Karl had "a couple arguments."

But as Karl clarified Wednesday, it was simply a case of Rondo's deadpan humor.

Karl redoubled the comedic efforts by jokingly picking a fight with Rondo around reporters.

Rondo also dutifully retracted his joke, as he echoed Karl's sentiments.

Given that the Kings are just four games into the preseason, it was unlikely that enough time had elapsed for any sort of feud to develop.

However, both Rondo and Karl have a history of being difficult to deal with. Rondo notoriously clashed with Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle last season, and Karl spent much of the offseason trying to mend fences with Kings center DeMarcus Cousins.

Regardless, aside from an innocuous bit of sarcasm, the relationship between Rondo and Karl appears strong, which is a good sign for the new-look Kings.

Despite coming off a down year, the pass-first Rondo finds himself in an ideal situation in Sacramento. Rondo has a pair of high-usage scorers in Cousins and Rudy Gay, and if Rondo and Karl can get on the same page, the Kings could be poised for a bounce-back campaign.

Rondo averaged 8.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 7.9 assists across 68 games with the Mavericks and Boston Celtics last season. He joined the Kings on a reported one-year, $10-million contract.