The Lakers have officially reached a deal with the Cavaliers on veteran point guard Rajan Rondo, espnon reporter Adrian Warnaroskey revealed the details of the deal on January 1, Beijing time:
"ESPN news: The Cavaliers have agreed to trade Denzel Valentine to the Lakers in exchange for Rajon Rondo, and it is expected that the Lakers will give up Valentine's partially guaranteed contract and create a roster gap."
In addition, Warnaroski also revealed Rondo's wishes after joining the Cavaliers:
"Sources said Rondo was eager to play a bigger role for the Cavaliers in the absence of Ricky Rubio and has been positive about the deal since it was an option.
Rondo's timing to join the Cavaliers is really good, and with the Cavaliers particularly lacking backcourt depth due to injuries to Colin Sexton and Ricky Rubio, coupled with Garlander, who triggered a health and safety deal, Rondo is largely the only veteran backcourt the Cavaliers can rely on.
As for the Lakers getting a stable three-point shooter like Valentine seems to be a good addition, but according to the US media Adrian Warnaroski, the Lakers will still give up Valentine and release a lineup seat.
So far this season, Rondo has only averaged 16.1 minutes of playing time per game in the Lakers, and in theory, Rondo should still be able to get more playing time in this Cavaliers team. Veteran players like Rondo should still be able to bring a lot of benefits to the Cavaliers, after all, Rondo averaged 3.7 assists per game during the limited playing time for the Lakers, not to mention in the Cavaliers who needed someone to control the ball.