The Los Angeles Lakers have signed veteran point guard Rajon Rondo to a contract worth $9 million over one year. Rondo joins newly signed players, LeBron James and Lance Stephenson.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke the news.
Rondo is signing a one-year deal with Lakers, per source. https://t.co/wDG7BO7hLk
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2018
Rajon Rondo Agrees to Contract with Los Angeles Lakers
Rondo’s contract will see him playing through to the end of the 2018-19 season.
Rondo’s career has seen many peaks and troughs, but last year, Rondo fell somewhere in between his sometimes elite, sometimes poor, level of play. He averaged a decent 8.3 points, 8.2 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game and his defense and leadership was a key reason why the New Orleans Pelicans were able to shut down the backcourt of the Portland Trail Blazers and sweep a team ranked 3 seeds higher than them. However, Rondo missed certain periods throughout the season, playing only 65 games due to injury, and also had a poor FT% of 54.3.
Looking ahead, Rondo seems primed for a relief role behind second-year point guard Lonzo Ball. He will certainly add to the fluidity of the Lakers offense with his passing and the quality of their defense with his natural hardness on that end of the floor. Moreover, after over a decade in the league and an NBA ring under his belt, Rondo has veterans experience, which will surely be of use to the Lakers budding talents.
In order to be effective for the Lakers, it is vital that Rondo does not let his attitude get the better of himself, as that has proved to be the bane of his career on multiple occasions. Moreover, there are chinks in his game, such as free throw shooting, which he should still work on. The Lakers will need Rondo to stay healthy and fit and play as many games as possible in order to help his team contend for a playoff spot in the 2018/2019 season. The 32-year-old pure point is going into his 13th season in the NBA.
Main Photo:
WASHINGTON, USA – DECEMBER 19: New Orleans Pelicans’ Rajon Rondo (9) goes for a layup past Washington Wizards’ Marcin Gortat (13) during the NBA match between Washington Wizards and New Orleans Pelicans at the Capital One Arena in Washington, United States on December 19, 2017.
(Photo by Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
