The Cleveland Cavaliers suffered a major blow earlier this NBA season when fourth-year guard Collin Sexton suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee and now, they are scrambling for answers after Ricky Rubio suffered a knee injury on Wednesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Not only did the Cavaliers blow a 23-point lead against one of the worst teams in the league this season, but they also lost Ricky Rubio to a torn left ACL with just minutes left in the game. This is the same knee that Rubio suffered a torn ACL in during his rookie season.
Darius Garland has been a revelation for the Cavaliers this season and could be a sneaky play to make the All-Star game this season out of the Eastern Conference, but he alone cannot carry the load in this backcourt.
As a result, general manager Koby Altman has been busy on the phone trying to add some talent to his team and it appears that we will get to see the first trade of the 2021-22 NBA season.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: 3 Guards For Cleveland Cavaliers To Pursue Amid Injury Crisis
Thursday night, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that the Cavaliers were in “serious talks” with the Lakers to acquire Rajon Rondo in wake of Ricky Rubio being out for the rest of the season. Shortly after, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed this report, claiming that a deal could be agreed upon as early as Friday morning and that Rondo would be able to join the Cavs as soon as he cleared COVID protocols.
Now in his 16th NBA season and assuming this trade is completed, Rondo will be joining his ninth different franchise, tenth if you count his short couple day stint with the Grizzlies in the offseason, and his fourth in the last two seasons.
Rajon Rondo began the 2020-21 season with the Atlanta Hawks, but was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers ahead of the trade deadline.
In the offseason, the Clippers then traded Rondo as part of a multi-player trade package to the Memphis Grizzlies and the veteran guard as later released, only to then sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: 3 Guards For Cleveland Cavaliers To Pursue Amid Injury Crisis
On averaging about 16 minutes per game this season, Rondo’s role with the Lakers has been minimal and this organization desperately needs to try and make some changes.
For Cleveland, Rajon Rondo is a potential future Hall-of-Famer that has always been a strong facilitator with the ball in his hands.
Currently 20-15 in the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers certainly looked like a playoff team during the first-half of this season and they will look to remain relevant with their midseason pick-up of Rajon Rondo.
