What Could Rajon Rondo offer the Lakers?
By Mike Garcia
The one word answer is, creativity.
There has not been an assist-man as great as Rajon Rondo since Steve Nash was in his prime. He’s a natural point guard. With a team full of finishers, he can make a team fulfill their potential as a unit.
Recall the late-2000’s Boston Celtics. They had great finishers. Rajon Rondo was the fourth option on offense behind Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce. Paul Pierce had a few set ups in isolation situations. Ray Allen ran through multiple screens to get shots off. Kevin Garnett had a few plays in the paint, but was the pick-and-roll target for Rondo. The talent was great. The coaching was great. They won a championship.
The Laker roster now has a few players that can fulfill those roles similarly. Carlos Boozer would be a pick-and-roll target. Like Garnett, he can also pop out to 19′ and hit shots consistently. Kobe Bryant would fulfill the Paul Pierce role perfectly. Nick Young may not be the catch-and-shoot player to the caliber of Ray Allen, but he is still capable. Rondo is very capable of great games.
If the Lakers were to trade for Rondo, the chances of Boozer, Bryant, and Young being kept are high. Other names may be listed in the potential trade.
Rajon Rondo may not have the elite speed of his earlier career, but he came back from his injury very well. Keep in mind, he has the hands and wingspan of a center. It allows him to retain his point guard skill-set with ball-handling, passing, and rebounding. How well did he do last year? He averaged 11.7 points per game, 9.8 assists per game, and 5.5 rebounds per game. His field goal percentage dropped to 40.3% along with steals being down to 1.3 per game. Not bad coming back from a partially torn ACL injury. He is entering his prime, and will only get better as he gets closer to 100%.
Part of the statistical drop may be due to roster changes. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce went to the New Jersey Nets. Ray Allen went to the Miami Heat. Rajon Rondo lost his finishers and needed to take on more of a scoring role, something that is not natural to his game.
Nick Young, Kobe Bryant, and Carlos Boozer wouldn’t mind helping him out with that.
Rajon Rondo may not want to be part of a rebuild in Boston. Kobe Bryant doesn’t believe in rebuilding either. Maybe having a player with a similar mentality and a change of scenery could do Rondo and the Lakers some good.