Los Angeles Lakers: 5 Reasons Rajon Rondo should be re-signed

3. LeBron needs help with playmaking and ball handling

The man who calls himself The King and Greatest of All Time is now 34 years of age, and in late December he’ll turn 35. Although he’s still arguably the best player in the game right now, his workload needs to be eased if he will continue to be an elite player for the remainder of his Lakers tenure.

The main area of his game that he needs to delegate to teammates is ball handling and playmaking. Over the years, the task of having to bring the ball upcourt, specifically on a fast break team like the Lakers, takes its toll on you, especially when you also have to score at least 25-30 points a night.

If LeBron wants to give himself the best chance of winning at least one more ring, he needs to move his game more off the ball and post up more often.

Keeping Rondo in the fold will help with that. The great ones don’t trust just anyone to share their workload with, and Rondo, by virtue of his ability and experience, is more than qualified to handle the ball and dictate the tempo the majority of the time he’s on the floor with LeBron.

For most of his career, Kobe Bryant had to bring the ball upcourt and be the Lakers’ de-facto point guard, even though he hated it. As he got into his 30s, the Lakers failed to bring in a skilled point guard who could relieve him of that duty.

When they acquired Steve Nash in 2012, it was too late, as the 34-year-old Black Mamba tore his Achilles months later, effectively ending his career.

LeBron is the same exact age now. With all the criticism the Lakers front office has been getting for not evolving and adjusting to the modern NBA, don’t you think it’s time for them to learn from their past mistakes and better manage the load of their franchise player, especially since he’s coming off the first significant injury of his pro career?