Lakers Rumors: Latest Buzz on Rajon Rondo and Nick Young
After Paul George was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, a calm spread over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The buzz will surely pick up again if PG-13 doesn't re-sign with OKC, as he reportedly told Indiana Pacers management that he was headed for L.A., per Adrian Wojnarowski, who was then with The Vertical.
For now, Magic Johnson, Rob Pelinka and the new front office are looking to make smaller additions to the growing roster, almost certainly on one-year deals to maintain cap space.
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Let's look at the latest below. One former rival seems interested in donning the Purple and Gold, while another Laker could be bound for the champions.
When free agency opened up, Woj reported that the Lakers spoke to free-agent point guard Rajon Rondo:
The ex-Chicago Bull's star has dimmed in recent years after elite, title-winning years with the Boston Celtics. Still, the 31-year-old proved he can still fill up the statsheet in the opening round of this year's playoffs.
Before fracturing a thumb, Rondo hit his former team, the Celtics, with a pair of impressive games as No. 8-seeded Chicago raced out to a 2-0 series lead.
- Game 1: 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals, one block, one turnover
- Game 2: 11 points, 14 assists, nine rebounds, five steals, three turnovers
"Playoff Rondo" remains an intriguing option despite the dark cloud that has appeared to follow the pass-first guard in recent years. Despite the apparent baggage, The Athletic's Sean Highkin tweeted Sunday night that the Bulls' young players all "swore by" Rondo:
The Lakers seem intrigued by the possibility of pairing Rondo with their own young gun, No. 2 pick Lonzo Ball. ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne said L.A. is giving Rondo "strong consideration":
One hang-up could be the length of a potential deal. According to Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers are "unwilling to jeopardize their salary-cap space for the summer of 2018" with anything other than one-year deals.
They talked with George Hill about a one-year deal, too, per Mark Medina of the Orange County Register, but it seems likely he could get additional years elsewhere—at least more so than Rondo.
Could Rondo play himself into a lengthier deal after a strong year with the Lakers? Sure. Now on the wrong side of 30 at 31, the jumper-deficient guard would certainly prefer several guaranteed years. The market has been dry thanks to last year's disastrous spending frenzy—cough, Timofey Mozgov, cough—so it's unlikely a team like the New York Knicks links up with Rondo for several seasons.
The pairing with Magic and Co. makes sense, as long as Rondo accepts that Ball is the future and, as Johnson said, the "new face of the Lakers."
Nick Young
If one mercurial guard is coming in, one has to be going out.
Right?
According to ESPN's Wojnarowski, former Lakers shooting guard Nick Young is a "serious candidate" to join the reigning champion Golden State Warriors:
Draymond Green fanned the flames when he posted a video of himself and Young with the caption "Warriors?" on Sunday night:
TNT's David Aldridge added that the opportunity to play for a contender is important to Young:
At 32 years old, in a turning point of his career, Young splashed 40.4 percent of his looks from deep and averaged 13.2 points per game in 2016-17. More importantly, for the first time in years (maybe ever) Young showed genuine effort on defense under Luke Walton.
B/R's Ryan Cole thinks he could be a capable three-and-D wing on Golden State:
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