The Los Angeles Lakers have already been busy in the NBA rumor mill this offseason. From Kyrie Irving rumors to Russell Westbrook trade ideas, it has been anything but a dull period thus far. Now, it appears that the Lakers could consider targeting another veteran point guard by the name of Ricky Rubio in free agency.
Rubio has been connected to the Lakers before. In fact, many believe that he would be a perfect playmaker to take pressure off of Lebron James.
One Lakers’ writer suggested Rubio as a target after missing out on Irving. It certainly does make a lot of sense.
In a perfect world, Rubio could provide the Lakers with the same kind of impact that Rajon Rondo did off the bench in the Orlando bubble. While Rubio is unlikely to shoot as well from three as Rondo did in those playoffs, he absolutely can be the floor general of the second unit that can take some of the playmaking duties off of LeBron James.
Obviously, the main concern for the Lakers would be that Rubio is coming off of a torn ACL. He missed most of the 2021-22 season due to that injury. However, that could also drive his price range down to an ideal market for the Lakers.
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Rubio ended up playing in 34 games with the Cavaliers before going down with his injury. He averaged 13.1 points per game to go along with 6.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.4 steals. In addition to those averages, he shot 36.3 percent from the floor overall and knocked down 33.9 percent of his three-point attempts.
Granted, he would not help add more shooting for the Lakers, but playmaking is a major need as well. At the price range that he should be in, he could be the best option for Los Angeles to pursue.
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Expect to see the Lakers put together a very active free agency period. Whether it’s via signings or trades, they know that they need to aggressively re-tool their roster. Ricky Rubio may not be the “sexiest” name available, but he would be a very nice target for the Lakers.
