The Los Angeles Lakers are giving “strong consideration” to signing free agent point guard Rajon Rondo, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
Lakers obviously hanging back at start of free agency, but one player they continue to give strong consideration to is Rajon Rondo
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 2, 2017
Of course, there is no guarantee that the team will sign the former Celtics’ guard, given their interest in a few other free agents as well as their desire to maintain cap space in 2018. However, the Lakers’ have been intrigued by Rondo for years and have been linked to him earlier this summer.
The Lakers’ current roster construction makes finding a suitable guard (either a starting shooting guard or a backup point guard) imperative this summer. Currently, Lonzo Ball, Jordan Clarkson, David Nwaba, and Josh Hart appear to be the four guards likely to play the majority of minutes.
Nevertheless, Rondo’s fit on the Lakers is not perfect, to say the least. The team has a need for shooters and defenders, making him about as poor of a signing as possible to improve in those two aspects. Rondo is a career 30.4 percent shooter from deep (although he shot a career-high 37.6 percent last year) and his defense has fallen off quite a bit since his Celtics days.
The Lakers are also adamant that they want leaders and high-character players. Rondo has found himself mired in controversy as someone who does not get along with teammates and coaches and was punished for issuing homophobic slurs towards an official.
It’s too early to note whether the veteran will be a Laker next season but he would be anything but an ideal signing for Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka.
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