Lakers Rumors: Rajon Rondo to Undergo Surgery on Hand Injury; out 1 Month

Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo will reportedly miss one month of action after it was determined his injured right hand requires surgery, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Rondo already missed five weeks after suffering a broken hand during the Lakers' 126-117 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 14. His estimated recovery time was four to five weeks, and he finally returned on Dec. 21 against the New Orleans Pelicans.

The veteran appeared in two more games after that before getting injured again and missing Thursday's 117-116 loss to the Sacramento Kings.

The good news for Los Angeles is it hasn't suffered much during games Rondo has missed this season. L.A. is 12-9 without the 32-year-old, which isn't far off the pace of its overall record of 20-15.

In the 14 games Rondo has appeared in this season, the four-time All-Star and one-time NBA champion is averaging 8.4 points, 6.7 assists and 4.4 rebounds.

Point guard is still a position the Lakers are trying to figure out. Lonzo Ball has taken off defensively, but he's only shooting 40.5 percent from the field this season after making just 36.0 percent of his shots as a rookie.

Rondo isn't the playmaker he was at his peak with the Boston Celtics. He's been an effective role player when healthy, though, and his veteran presence will be missed, especially with LeBron James currently nursing a groin injury.

James and Rondo are two of the Lakers' best ball-handlers, and their absence will put additional pressure on Ball to excel in that regard.

LeBron figures to be the de facto point guard when he makes his way back into the lineup, but until then, look for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Lance Stephenson to eat up most of the minutes vacated by Rondo behind Ball.