3. How big of a role will Rajon Rondo actually play?
Rajon Rondo is back in the purple and gold and it happened so fast. After being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers during the season, Rondo was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies this offseason and was subsequently bought out.
It was quickly reported thereafter that Rondo would be returning to the Lakers just 10 months after winning the NBA Championship with the team in the Orlando bubble. Rondo left the Lakers to make a cool $15 million, got traded back to Los Angeles and now finds himself back on the Lakers $15 million richer.
Rondo’s veteran leadership will absolutely have a positive impact on certain players and the potential for playoff Rondo is certainly enticing. That being said, it is hard to pinpoint what exactly his role is going to be in the regular season.
Westbrook is going to take a lot of the point guard minutes and Kendrick Nunn is going to need a good portion off the bench to be successful. Throw in some minutes with Talen Horton-Tucker running the offense and there is not much room for Rondo.
One of the biggest weapons that the Lakers have is the depth and the ability to legitimately run a 13-player rotation but the team does not want to take away too many minutes from the likes of Westbrook and Nunn.