There are plenty of valid criticisms about the Lakers’ revamped roster (the addition of LeBron James notwithstanding, obviously). After striking out on their other superstar free agent targets – Kawhi Leonard and Paul George – Magic Johnson and the other execs made some, shall we say, curious personnel decisions.
The resulting roster heading into training camp is a motley assemblage of aging or otherwise marginalized players whose fit alongside LeBron and the Lakers’ young core is questionable, at best, despite his hilariously-conceived re-branding effort. Just look at the way LeBron has been dialing down expectations in a way we haven’t seen since his return to Cleveland and the unknown of a young, inexperienced Cavs squad, most of whom had never seen the playoffs.
Still, there are some things he’s genuinely excited about. LeBron loves heady players who see the game the way he does, and he’s been heaping praise on Rajon Rondo of late, who he considers an equal when it comes to court vision and overall basketball smarts.
James’ recall and basketball IQ are legendary, something he’s showed off in postgame pressers during the playoffs recently, but as he noted at media day, via The Undefeated, Rondo is among the few like him in the league and having both on the same team is something exciting for him.
“There’s not many of us in this league that can actually think and prepare with our minds before we even step on the floor,” James said of Rondo, “and actually play the game like the two of us.”
LeBron had epic battles against Rondo and the Big 3 Celtics earlier in his career, and he’s clearly looking forward to running the court with a teammate who is not only as fierce a competitor as he is, but also has the brains to go along with that killer instinct. They’ll see a lot of court time together early in the season as Lonzo Ball continues to work his way back from injury, and despite his age and nonexistent outside shooting, Rondo proved last season in New Orleans that he can still thrive under the right circumstances.
Regardless of his reputation for being difficult behind the scenes, Rondo is beloved among many of his teammates, and his current season-long audition with the Lakers could very well determine what the twilight of his career might look like. Even if Rondo eventually has to relinquish his starting role, he could be a great mentor to Ball and provide valuable minutes as both a reserve and in smaller two-point-guard lineups like he did with the Pelicans.
Of course, he might also clash spectacularly with LeBron or some of the other volatile personalities, so either way, it’ll be a fascinating experiment.
