Los Angeles Lakers: More signs pointing to Rajon Rondo re-joining Lakers

Rajon Rondo signed a two-year, $15 million deal with the Atlanta Hawks after being so good in the title run for the Los Angeles Lakers. He was then traded to the Los Angeles Clippers last season, who flipped him this offseason in a deal to get Eric Bledsoe.

When that trade happened we were quick to explain why Rondo became a future buyout target for the Lakers. Memphis really had no reason to keep him long-term and his contract is likely going to be very hard to move.

That trade was about moving Eric Bledsoe’s contract and that is what they did. They subsequently flipped Patrick Beverley, who was also in the deal, showcasing that the players they got in return were not the main reason the deal was made.

The Grizzlies are adding even more fuel to the fire as it not only seems more likely that Rondo will be a buyout target for the Los Angeles Lakers, but that it could happen much sooner than we expected.

According to reports from the Daily Memphian, Rajon Rondo is not expected to be with the Memphis Grizzlies at the start of the season. Two things can happen: the Grizzlies could either buy Rondo out before the year to remove the headache or they can have a standoff similar to the one they had with Andre Iguodala, holding out until a trade could be made.

I would predict that the former is more likely than the latter. Iguodala had more trade value than Rondo and that deal was not even good for Memphis. It is going to be harder to move Rondo.

Thus, the Grizzlies could simply buy him out before the year, prompting the Lakers to sign him with one of the three open roster spots. The Lakers are considering a point guard after working out Darren Collison, Isaiah Thomas and Mike James. Rondo would be significantly better than any of those options for the Lakers.

Rondo turns it up in the playoffs, that is no secret, and his mind for the game will be hugely impactful to the likes of Kendrick Nunn, Malik Monk and Talen Horton-Tucker, who has already benefitted from Rondo.

Even if his role does not end up being that big and he does not give the Lakers the same production in the NBA Playoffs, giving themselves the option for that to happen is the most important takeaway for the Lakers here.

There are more signs that Rajon Rondo might want to stay in LA and potentially join the Los Angeles Lakers.

Now, this might be reading the tea leaves a bit too much but Rajon Rondo posted that he was at Saturday’s Los Angeles Dodgers game sporting Dodgers gear. I get that it is just a baseball game, but showing up to a baseball game and sporting LA gear is not something that someone does if they are in the middle of moving their things and family to Memphis.

We see sports stars show up for games to support the other teams in their city all the time. While there is no Memphis baseball team to support, the fact that he was at this game in the first place might be indicative of where he wants to stay if he is bought out.

The Los Angeles Lakers have made a trend out of re-signing former players this offseason. Perhaps that trend continues with Rajon Rondo.