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| Could Rondo be in LA next year? Photo Credit: Daniel Shirey/USA Today Sports |
Though free agency is a long way off from now and is not on anyone's mind as of right now, their is potential for a move this coming summer that could help a franchise get back on its feet.
By: Michael Hanley
Their is a report from SI that indicates league executives outside of the Lakers organization believe that LA will make a legitimate run to acquire Celtics star & free agent point guard Rajon Rondo this coming summer.
Here is more in detail about what those executives thinking is behind this potential acquisition in the upcoming off season (via SI.com):
There is one player who makes sense in LA next season: Rajon Rondo. Several rival executives believe the Lakers will make a strong run at Rondo next summer, and it's easy to see why. Rondo is young (28), plays a critical position and shares the same win-at-all-bleeping-cost attitude as Bryant. The Celtics are rebuilding and have a young playmaker in Marcus Smart, which may limit their desire to hand Rondo max money.
This is not the first time this idea has been kicked around. Back in the 2013 season , during the tumultuous year when Dwight Howard was donning Lakers colors, LA was looking to ship him out and be done with this failed experiment with him.
At the time they were looking to their arch rivals in the Celtics to be a trade partner with and try to make this whole thing work out. Rondo was mentioned in those talks as being the second centerpiece of that potential deal with Howard being the other centerpiece. Those talks however never went beyond that and nothing came of it as both teams suffered forgettable seasons that year.
This time around it would be a whole different scenario the Lakers and Celtics would be working under when it comes to Rondo. Los Angeles will be desperate to infuse this lackluster roster outside of Bryant with some legitimate, top flight talent that can help the franchise get back into contender mode.
For Boston, they will be in rebuilding mode still and will have a developing young player in Marcus Smart who could make them hesitate to give Rondo a max free agent deal that he will no doubt seek.That would enable Rondo to test his value on the free agent market and see just how much he could get.
The Lakers will no question be very aggressive in their pursuit of him and could be in luck for getting him at a price that allows them to not only get him on the team but to then go after another big free agent in that off season.
Pairing Rajon Rondo with Kobe Bryant would create quite the dynamic duo in the Western Conference. Rondo would provide the point guard that they desperately need to facilitate and move the offense. He would also provide some top level defense that this Lakers roster could use in the worst way. Bryant could then not have to carry the entire burden scoring wise for the team and instead be more selective with his shot selection and when to be aggressive in looking for his own offense.
Though we have heard about the rough edges of Rondo in how he can be a pain to play with and not always get along with teammates, Byron Scott and his staff could work on that if those issues were still there. More likely though is Rondo would embrace the challenge of helping get the Lakers back to their elite level, playing with one of the greatest players of all time in Kobe Bryant and the lifestyle that Los Angeles can provide a player.
The Lakers would still need another all star caliber scorer to jump on board from free agency they could make it much easier on themselves to acquire one if they could provide not only the prestige and tradition of the Lakers but also boasting Bryant and Rondo, two big pieces to what could be a future title contender.
They could paint that rosy picture of being just one player away from being legitimate contenders for an NBA Title. This is over half a year away from being even close to happen but it does bear watching as the season moves on and once we do get to the summertime.
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