Los Angeles Lakers: 3 player types the team needs to add in free agency
By Jason Reed
3. A second facilitator
Rajon Rondo has been an interesting case study this season. While Rondo has looked solid at times and his veteran presence is a nice addition, he has looked bad more than he has looked good and many Laker fans were waiting for his departure after this season.
Rondo has a player option but the Lakers could essentially force him out, telling the veteran guard that they will simply trade him to another team for a future second-round pick (there will be a team willing to pay a future second for Rondo, especially because of his contract).
Regardless, we have gotten a taste of the Los Angeles Lakers without Rajon Rondo in the bubble and the results have not been as good as expected. Dion Waiters has been touted as the guy that could essentially take the job from Rondo with a strong showing in the bubble.
And while Waiters has been fun to watch, he is a ball stopper and has not really been facilitating as much as expected. I am not sure if the Lakers can trust in him being that secondary facilitator considering he is attempting over 10 shots in 23 minutes per game in the bubble.
It all depends if the Lakers do want to move on from Rondo or if they simply bring the veteran guard back.
If anything, I could see this being a need that the Lakers solve in the 2020 NBA Draft. Free agency is always an option as well and if they bring back Waiters then he would technically be a free-agent signing.