Lou Williams would have been respected in the locker room
The common narrative that floats around the NBA is that LeBron James likes to play around veterans. They work well and the cohesion comes together quickly. What gets lost in that message is that veterans that have been around James take away the leadership responsibilities of LeBron.
LeBron James was atrocious in leading the Lakers this year. He did not develop the relationship with the young players of the Lakers (Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Lonzo Ball) early in the season and it showed.
When Tyson Chandler came in after the Phoenix Suns buyout, he became the liaison for the locker room for a while. The only problem is at his age. His body did not hold up to produce on the floor and back and neck injuries eventually kept him out of the lineup.
Then LeBron’s name was attached with getting the entire team traded to New Orleans. Locker room unison? Dead along with his creditably as a leader.
As for Rajon Rondo, with respect to Bill Plaschke, who says that Rajon Rondo is the undisputed leader in the locker room with the young players helping them out, I have one thing to say about that; he hasn’t been the best one. Rondo has done his fair share of damage too.
Rajon Rondo plays absolutely no defense and has basically destroyed the Lakers defense under the radar. His deficiencies as a shooter are getting close to being as bad as his defense. Just because someone barks out orders doesn’t make them leaders. They practice what they preach.
The Los Angeles Clippers have a very young team with no All-Stars. But the one thing you can count on from them is playing hard every night starting at the defensive end. Lou Williams is not a defensive stalwart but he doesn’t ball watch either.
Lou Williams, along with Patrick Beverley and Montrezl Harrell, has put together a cohesive unit that has bought into Doc Rivers culture of competing every night. This happened even after trading away their best player in Tobias Harris and Boban Marjanovic, the Clippers back up center and most popular player in the locker room.
All for the price of $8 million. One million less than what the Lakers are paying Rajon Rondo.