The Los Angeles Lakers have a couple of glaring problems on their roster. They got even further away from solving those problems with the reportedly imminent Rajon Rondo signing.
After being bought out by the Memphis Grizzlies, the 15-year NBA veteran was immediately linked to a return to the Lakers. While on paper they add another experienced playmaker, it doesn't seem to be a hand-in-glove fit for what the team needs given the offseason moves they've already made.
Rondo will clear waivers on Monday and will likely be signed to fill the final available roster spot with the Lakers, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/fLABLEls3Q
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 28, 2021
The criticisms most have on their roster were pretty clear. For one, they have one of the oldest rosters in NBA history. For another, despite adding a couple of veteran shooters, their floor-spacing remains their biggest question mark coming into the season. Rajon Rondo solves neither of those things, while providing strengths the team doesn't need.
#1 – The Lakers claimed they wanted to get younger
He's currently 35 years old, and will turn 36 by the time the NBA playoffs roll around. Hilariously, there are five other players on the Lakers roster currently older than him.
While on its face, a team looking to win now doesn't really need to think about planning for anything beyond this season, having a few younger legs on the team feels like a better use of their final roster spots. In fact, that's exactly what they said they were going to do when they cut Jared Dudley. Dudley said so himself on his way out.
Via Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times:
“No one owed me anything, Rob and Kurt were honest and upfront, nothing but respect and gratitude to them and Jeanie [Buss], I will be forever thankful for the opportunity they gave me,” Dudley said. “But I did want to come back. I did think I could help the team, especially having so many new players, but I understand they wanted to get younger.”
Technically, they did get younger since Jared Dudley just turned 36, a full seven months before Rondo does. That counts for something, I guess?
#2 – Rajon Rondo is no true floor-spacer
Then there's the shooting. Yes, Rajon Rondo is a much-improved threat from distance. Every Lakers fan who watched the 2020 NBA Finals run saw him resemble Stephen Curry for stretches in big games. He followed that up with a career-high 40.4% three-point year last season, by far the best he's ever shot it from deep.
But despite his newfound stroke, he's still far from a true floor spacer. Rondo only attempted 2.0 threes per game last season, and just 2.6 the previous year with the Lakers. Even in their championship run he was only taking a shade over three per game.
Given the already constricted lineups LA is currently looking at with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook all on the floor at the same time, Rajon Rondo doesn't exactly fit seamlessly.
#3 – Rajon Rondo – redundant?
What he is good at is obviously playmaking. Having Rajon Rondo on the roster for LeBron James' first two seasons with LA made a ton of sense, given that there weren't many reliable options to have the ball in their hands aside from King James. But with the addition of Russell Westbrook, and to a certain extent Carmelo Anthony, the only things Rondo brings to the table become virtually redundant.
The Lakers went from being desperate to find a playmaker alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, to having arguably the dictionary definition of the word with Westbrook. The question surrounding their newfound Big 3 is how they'll be able to split playmaking duties effectively.
While the Brooklyn Nets had virtually the same question on splitting offensive duties last season, all three of their stars in Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden are lethal from distance and amplify each other's offensive games. All three of the Lakers stars are a step below the Nets trio in that department, with Westbrook statistically being one of the worst volume three-point shooters in the league last season.
Rajon Rondo becomes yet another player that needs the ball in his hands to be effective. And just like the rest of their Big 3, he's not going to space the floor the same way a knockdown shooter would.
At the end of the day, this is simply for one of the final spots on the roster. While the Lakers definitely could have used someone younger, who could space the floor like Trevor Ariza and Wayne Ellington while not having over a decade of mileage on them, the looming Rajon Rondo signing might prove to be inconsequential.
But considering where their problems lie, and the fact that they cut veteran voice Jared Dudley to make room for him, Rajon Rondo just doesn't make sense on this Lakers roster.
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