After the injury on December 18, the Lakers suffered a wave of 5 consecutive losses, although on December 29, the road win over the Rockets, but in the back-to-back game lost to the Grizzlies, the last 7 games lost 6 games, the record is only 17 wins and 19 losses, ranking 7th in the West, but their top eight positions in the West are not stable, behind the Timberwolves, Spurs, Kings, Blazers, tigers, at any time may replace the Lakers into the top eight.
The same situation as the Lakers is also the Cavaliers in the East. The Cleveland Cavaliers, which have emerged this season, have suffered successive blows in recent times, first of all, the team's main point guard Rubio left the court with an injury not long ago, and then was detected to tear the cruciate ligament in his left knee, which has been declared a season reimbursement, and recently rubio has no control of the backcourt, the last two games have been lost to the Pelicans and Wizards, the record has reached 20 wins and 15 losses, slipping to fifth in the East. Moreover, the Cavaliers are currently only two wins ahead of the eighth-place Wizards in the East and three wins ahead of the ninth-place Knicks in the East. The Cavaliers will have to play against the Grizzlies, Warriors and other strong teams in the next few games, so they are likely to fall out of the top eight in the East in the future.
Rubio's injury reimbursement, coupled with the fact that Syxton was also reimbursed for the meniscus torn season, the Cavaliers are now in a hurry. It is reported that the Cavaliers have now been in contact with the Lakers, and the two sides are discussing a deal with veteran Rajan Rondo. The specific deal scenario is for the Lakers to send Rondo to the Cavaliers, and the Lakers will get a $1.7 million deal exception and save $7 million in luxury taxes. The deal is undoubtedly a win-win deal for both sides, because of the presence of Westbrook and James, Rondo has not been reused in the Lakers this season, he averaged only 3.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 16.1 minutes per game, several statistics fell to career-lows. Rondo joining the Cavaliers will let the Cavaliers' backcourt employment panic be solved, he will also have more playing time, and Rondo has a wealth of playoff experience, can give the Cavaliers more guidance to these young people, which is very helpful for the Cavaliers to impact the playoffs.
After the Lakers traded Rondo, the team freed up a place. Stanley Johnson, who just signed a 10-day short contract with the Lakers, has performed well in the last three games, scoring 7 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal against the Nets, 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal against the Rockets, and 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocks against the Grizzlies. Although offense is not Johnson's strong point, in terms of defense, the spirit of daring to fight has left a deep impression on fans. After Johnson's 10-day contract expires, the Lakers will most likely sign a formal contract with him. According to the report of the well-known journalist Shams, the deal between the Lakers and the Cavaliers has been basically reached, only the official announcement of both sides, let's wait and see!