With most of the players in the Lakers' lineup slowly ending their COVID-19 quarantine and returning to the team's lineup, the team that has been plagued by injuries since the beginning of the season seems to be getting closer and closer to its full form. However, a problem also arises, that is, in the past period, the team's signed "firefighters" Stanley Johnson and Darren Collison may lose their positions.
Although the two left the NBA for a long time before the Lakers found them, after signing a 10-day short-term contract with the Lakers, they immediately occupied a rotation position in the Lakers' lineup. Stanley Johnson used his good physical and defensive ability to give the Lakers an extra choice on the front line, while Darren Collison played in 3 games, although he only scored 4 points and 2 assists in total, but his physical condition allowed him to at least be competent for the duties of a substitute point guard. Judging from the current situation, the Lakers may give the two more opportunities in the future.
However, if you want to keep the two of them, the Lakers' lineup space is not enough. To solve this problem, the Lakers management seems to have begun to act. According to a number of American reporters, the Lakers and the Cavaliers have begun to communicate. The Cavaliers are trying to find a guard to supplement the lineup after losing backcourt big player Rubio, in which case Lajeon Rondo, who has lost his place in the Lakers' rotation lineup, could be traded to Cleveland.
According to Bobby Max, the league's salary expert, if the Cavaliers want to get Rondo through a trade, they don't need to send other players to the Lakers to match the salary. Because according to the provisions of the collective agreement, when trading players who have signed a one-year basic salary contract for veterans, there is no need to consider the issue of matching. If the Cavaliers want to get Rondo, all they need to do is make room for a slot in the lineup, like cut a player.
So, what can the Lakers get in this deal? Judging from the current media reports, the most reward the Lakers get is to sign a non-guarantee contract player, or a power like a second-round draft pick swap. Because for the Lakers, keeping Rondo in the lineup is really useless, and it also occupies a lineup space, so that the Lakers can't keep Stanley Johnson or Darren Collison. After all, from the situation in the past 3 games, the opportunities for these two players to play, and the role they play in the current team, are much higher than Rondo's.
For many Lakers fans, sending Rondo away may be emotionally uncomfortable. After all, in the 2019-20 season, Rondo, as a member of the Lakers, made a great contribution to the team's championship. So before the start of the season, when the Lakers signed back to Rondo with the veteran's base salary, many Lakers fans welcomed the meritorious veteran from the bottom of their hearts.
However, after the start of the season, the 35-year-old Rondo has long since lost the style of two years ago. So far this season, when Rondo is on the bench, the Lakers have averaged 10.1 points less points per 100 possessions than when Rondo was sitting off the court. As he ages, many of Rondo's former strengths are slowly deteriorating, and those of the past are becoming more severely exposed.
Admittedly, Rondo's game experience, as well as his "playoff mode," are the hidden assets of the team. But for the Lakers, who were not in good shape after the start of the season and are now in urgent need of fresh strength, keeping Rondo will not help the team solve these thorny problems in front of them. To put it bluntly, today's Rondo is a state of "tasteless abandonment" for the Lakers.
At this time, the knight, who was in urgent need of a defender, came to the door. After Sexton's injury, the team, which has surprised fans a lot this season, quickly adjusted its lineup. But now rubio has suffered another knee injury, and even if the Cavaliers have a "three-high lineup", they can't put all the tasks on the bodies of a few big men. So in this case, the knight thought of Rondo. For Rondo, although he has few playing time and opportunities in the Lakers, but now the Cavaliers need a point guard, his experience and organizational ability, for this young team, can still play a certain role, he can most likely get more opportunities than in the Lakers.
In fact, the Cavaliers can also go to some of the more well-known point guards to save the game, such as Ben Simmons, who has not played since the beginning of the season. But if they want to get Simmons, the Cavaliers will have to come back at a greater cost, and they will definitely have to send off a few young people on the team who have performed well. Such a situation is obviously not what the knight wants to see. So signing Rondo is an action with a relatively high input-output ratio.
"No matter what kind of player is introduced, his personality traits are undoubtedly very important," Cavaliers coach Bikstaff said before the rumors about Rondo appeared, "you have to do more homework in this regard." ”
In addition, according to sources, Rondo himself showed "great interest" in leaving the Lakers and joining the Cavaliers. After all, in the 18 games Rondo has played against the Lakers this season, he has averaged only 16 minutes per game, averaging 3.1 points and 32.4% shooting per game, which cannot satisfy himself and the team. If he joins the Cavaliers, he will be able to get more opportunities, and the defense and passing he is good at will be more useful.