On Thursday night, Shams Charania reported that the Cavaliers and Lakers were nearing an agreement to send Rajon Rondo to Cleveland and Friday morning, this deal was made official. Marking the first trade of the 2021-22 NBA season, the Cavaliers traded Denzel Valentine to the Los Angeles Lakers for veteran guard and four-time All-Star, Rajon Rondo.
Upon arrival to Los Angeles, Valentine is expected to be waived in order to clear up a roster spot. While he is set to make $2.19M this season, Denzel Valentine’s contract is only guaranteed for $847,072 if waived today, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
With Valentine’s cap hit and the Lakers expected to sign forward Stanley Johnson for the rest of the season, this will offset that of Rondo’s salary for Los Angeles, while also creating a $1.7M TPE for the Lakers.
Navigating around their cap situation and luxury taxes in Los Angeles, the Lakers have struggled finding ways to pursue more talent this season. While this is not that big of a trade for them, moving Rondo is a start for them in attempts to get back to being a force in the Western Conference.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Cavs Trade For Rajon Rondo From Lakers — Full Details
This move for Cleveland was made in response to Ricky Rubio suffering a season-ending ACL tear in his left knee on Tuesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans. With both Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio now out for the season, GM Koby Altman knew that he had to get Darius Garland some more backcourt help, hence why they made the move for a low-cost, high-experience option like Rajon Rondo.
Rondo’s contract will be absorbed by Cleveland using a $4.2M TPE they have from when JaVale McGee was traded to the Denver Nuggets last season and according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the veteran guard is “eager” to join the Cavaliers due to the opportunity for an increased role.
In 18 games with the Lakers this season, Rondo has only averaged about 16.1 minutes per game, resulting in him only averaging 3.1 points, 3.7 assists and shooting 32.4% from the floor this season.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Cavs Trade For Rajon Rondo From Lakers — Full Details
Being in health and safety protocols since Sunday, there is no set date for when Rajon Rondo will begin playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he will definitely prove useful for a team that is currently 20-15 and looking to make the playoffs for the first-time since 2018.
Moving on from Rajon Rondo really is not something that hurts the Lakers given that he was an end-of-the-bench player on their roster, but is this a trade that truly worked out for both sides?
