What Rondo and Jordan bring to the table for the Lakers
Rajon Rondo is the most recent signing of the Los Angeles Lakers and soon, after DeAndre Jordan reaches a buyout agreement with the Detroit Pistons, the Lakers will be signing him. Both guys are former All-Star players on the back ends of their respective careers, but they still could be key bench guys for the Lakers to utilize.
Rondo played with Los Angeles for two seasons from 2018-2020 and was a key contributor to their title run during the 2019-20 season in the NBA Bubble.
With the Lakers, Rondo averaged 8.1 points, 6.5 assists, and shot 34.5% from three-point range. He was the secondary ball-handler the Lakers needed then and with the departure of Dennis Schroder, he was the secondary ball-handler they needed now.
Last season, Rajon Rondo started the year with the Atlanta Hawks, but he really was not much of a factor behind Trae Young in their rotations. The fit did not make sense for Atlanta, so they traded Rondo to the Los Angeles Clippers at the NBA trade deadline and the veteran guard helped the Clippers claim the 4-seed in the Western Conference.
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With the Clippers looking to make some moves in the offseason, they unloaded Rondo’s contract to the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade package that landed them veteran combo-guard Eric Bledsoe. Rajon Rondo’s time with the Grizzlies was short-lived though, as they bought him out of the last year remaining in his contract, thus leading him to once again sign with the Lakers.
DeAndre Jordan was recently traded from Brooklyn to Detroit to help the Nets alleviate some salaries and taxes, but Jordan will not be staying in Detroit. The veteran big man will be bought out of his contract and when he is, he will be signing with the Lakers, per multiple reports.
Jordan has barely played the last two years in Brooklyn, but 6’11” center is still a “bruiser” in the paint when he is on the floor. In a total of 113 games with the Nets, DeAndre Jordan only averaged 22 minutes per game, but in his short time, he averaged 7.9 points and 8.7 rebounds, making him a solid bench guy next to Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard in the Lakers’ frontcourt.
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The reason both Rondo and Jordan are two key signings for the Lakers is not necessarily because of their experience in the league as All-Star talents, but because they both provide some stability for the Lakers’ bench. Rajon Rondo is more than capable of leading a rotation on the floor as the primary ball-handler, especially when LeBron James is taking a break and DeAndre Jordan can be a vacuum cleaner on the glass.
Durability could wind up being a problem with both of these guys, as they are both older now and have faced some injuries over the years, but in bench roles with a championship team like the Lakers, they should both flourish in their new roles.
This is an ancient team and the pending signing of Jordan is being mocked by those around the league, but this team is definitely aligning themselves to be the “team to beat” in the Western Conference.
