The Los Angeles Lakers were determined to make a splash in NBA free agency this summer and were able to do just that by signing LeBron James to a four-year deal. Along with adding arguably the best player in the game today, the Lakers brass also added some battle-tested veterans like point guard Rajon Rondo.

The Rondo signing was an interesting one for the Lakers with highly-touted Lonzo Ball expected to be the team floor general for the foreseeable future. Ball dealt with a number of injury issues throughout his rookie campaign and struggled in the shooting department, but still showed a lot of promise to be part of the team's long-term plans in Los Angeles.

However, the team's front office knows Ball still has a long way to go before reaches his potential on the NBA level and having an experienced mentor like Rondo helping him along the way is a wise move. On Wednesday, general manager Rob Pelinka talked about the addition of one-time NBA champion to the squad and his playoff experience being part of the reasoning to bring him on.

“He's been there,” Pelinka said of Rondo in tough playoff situations. “He's done that. He's proven himself. So I think the confidence he has in those moments will pervade to a Lonzo Ball, it will pervade to a Kuz, to a BI. We look at him as a leader along with LeBron, so you're exactly right. That's was absolutely something we wanted to address is playoff experience with those signings.”

Ever since being traded by the Boston Celtics in December of 2014, Rondo has bounced around the league a bit. His stint with the Dallas Mavericks was forgettable. Despite the 46 games played in Dallas being arguably the most disappointing part of his NBA career, Rondo has made an impression everywhere else he's gone.

Although he didn't make the playoffs with the Sacramento Kings, he proved he could still play at a high level while sharing the court with DeMarcus Cousins. Following one year in California's capital, the veteran guard played for the Chicago Bulls and helped bring them to the brink of knocking out the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the playoffs before getting injured.

Last year, Rondo became a valuable addition to the New Orleans Pelicans. The four-time All-Star already had built up the chemistry with Cousins and was able to replicate that with Anthony Davis. Rondo once again became a crucial component to a playoff squad guiding the Pelicans to the second round after sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers.

In Los Angeles, it appears the Lakers will be leaning on Rondo heavily to turn this team into a playoff-caliber squad. It will be an interesting dynamic between LeBron and Rajon as they learn to play together and help develop the young players in L.A. as the undisputed leaders of this team.