Lakers Coach Frank Vogel Sounds Off on Rajon Rondo Trade

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel has to move on from talented Rajon Rondo. The Lakers front office traded Rondo to the Cleveland Cavaliers and got Denzel Valentine. The latter didn’t last long and ended up joining the New York Knicks. LA has an open roster spot and a few millions available to use.

How does Vogel feel about Rondo’s departure?

“Rondo means the world to me,” the head coach said Monday. “He’s one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached. He was an integral part of us winning the championship two years ago, me winning my first championship and he’ll always be a special player and special friend to me. So I wish nothing but the best to him for now and we’ll continue to stay in touch and whatnot.”

Frank Vogel will definitely miss Rajon Rondo

Rondo’s veteran presence was of great help for the Lakers. He was there when the team won a championship in Orlando. Losing him twice is a big blow for the Lakers head coach.

“It would be more of a non-playing role, a third-string point guard role, but to use his I.Q. and intelligence,” Vogel said. “And that will certainly be missed.”

The Lakers lost too many games this season. Players struggled with injuries and COVID. It wasn’t easy at all. LA has a 19-19 record at the moment. Will they do better without Rondo? Will they get a new player to the roster?

“It wasn’t like we wanted to depart from Rondo,” Vogel said. “But it’s just one of those front-office decisions that you have to make difficult decisions and to lose a guy like Rondo is obviously very difficult.”

Rondo is out and the Lakers can bring a new player to the roster. They were linked with Stanley Johnson from the very first moment he joined the team through a 10-day deal.

There's mutual interest between Stanley Johnson and the Lakers to have him rejoin the team, league sources told ESPN. LAL has three options to have him come back: Sign him outright; sign for a 10-day contract then retain; sign him for two consecutive 10-days, then retain.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 4, 2022

Young Johnson had a chance to show off and he was averaging 6.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 25.2 minutes per game with the Lakers. Vogel admits that he “has potentially become a factor” for the team. Will the Lakers keep him around for a while?