The Los Angeles Lakers have sat at 12 players on the roster for a few weeks now, but that is bound to change on Monday. As expected, veteran guard Rajon Rondo has been bought out by the Memphis Grizzlies and the Lakers are the frontrunners to sign the two-time champion.
While Rondo showed some holes in his game in the most recent playoffs and certainly slowed down, if completed, it will be a great signing by the Lakers. We have to keep in mind that this is the 13th roster spot that is being filled and to get an impact player like Rondo this late in free agency is great for LA.
And at the end of the day, he is merely a depth option for the Lakers. A veteran that the team can lean on in the playoffs, and as we saw during the 2020 title run, he can play an important role on a championship-caliber team.
If not, the Lakers still have Russell Westbrook, Kendrick Nunn and potentially even Talen Horton-Tucker to man the point guard position. Rondo does not have to work out for the Lakers, but if he does that is great.
With Rondo, the Lakers’ roster is up to 13 players. The team is likely going to sign just one more player before the season, leaving the 15th roster spot open for a potential in-season signing. Thus, we can expect just one more free-agent signing by the team.
That raises the question: who is it going to be? There is one name that makes the most sense for the purple and gold.
James Ennis is the most likely player that the Los Angeles Lakers will sign alongside Rajon Rondo.
It was reported earlier this week that the Lakers were prioritizing adding a third point guard as well as another wing. The team has its third point guard and now it is time to turn to the wing, which leads us to James Ennis.
Ennis has been connected to LA before and his Twitter likes seem to indicate that there is a desire to come to the Los Angeles Lakers.
There were some reports that the Lakers were going to offer Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk a minimum contract but he ultimately signed with the Toronto Raptors. With him no longer on the market, Ennis becomes the most logical signing.
Ennis is not going to be some world-beater for the Lakers but he is a quality three and D wing who is going to give the Lakers another option off the bench. There is a world in which he gets hot from beyond the arc and proves to play quality defense with his size in Frank Vogel’s defensive scheme.
Personally, I would rather see the Lakers bring in another big, but with the reports that they are looking for another wing, Ennis is the logical signing.