Report: Rajon Rondo Announces His Free Agent Decision

The Los Angeles Lakers missed the opportunity to sign Kawhi Leonard in free agency, but they made a few awesome decisions these days and one of them includes Rajon Rondo.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Lakers signed Rondo to a two-year deal. Rondo is back on the floor!

The veteran point guard averaged 9.2 points, 8.0 assists and 5.3 rebounds. Rondo made 35.9 percent of his three pointers on a career-high 3.1 attempts per game. We all know what that means. Rondo still plays his best basketball, and he improves some aspects of his game. Rondo is a valuable player, and the Lakers need someone to help the win games. Simple as that.

This doesn’t change the fact that the Lakers played better without Rondo. When he was on the floor last season, the team was outscored by 8.4 points per 100 possessions. When he wasn’t playing, the Lakers outscored their opponents by 2.0 points per 100 possessions. It’s a 10-point gap, and two-way point guard Alex Caruso replaced Rondo on the floor.

This doesn’t come as a surprise. Every tam Rondo has played for since leaving the Celtics has scored better with him on the bench than on the floor. In New Orleans, the number was 1.9 points per 100 possessions. The gap for the Chicago Bulls was 4.3 points, and for the Sacramento Kings was one point. For the Dallas Mavericks the gap was 4.2 points.

Rondo’s effort on the floor is inconsistent, and his defense is nonexistent. The veteran would rather wait for a pass that leads to shots than making smooth passes that will keep the ball moving.

Lakers players have words of praise for Rondo as a teammate, but they can’t ignore his distracting action. Remember when he was caught moving from the bench to a vacant courtside seat?

Rondo is an excellent player that may be of great help next season. He should accept the fact that he is in the twilight of his professional career, and hopefully, he will go for a smaller role. The Lakers can’t accept his usual game, and he will end up hurting the team.