Plenty of eyes have been on Dallas Mavericks point guard Rajon Rondo as he has struggled so far in his team’s playoff series against the Houston Rockets. As the Mavericks’ season moves closer to possibly ending, the focus becomes Rondo’s impending free agency and the likelihood that he joins the Los Angeles Lakers
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According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Rondo has always planned to sign with the Lakers this off-season, and everything that has happened in Dallas is only making him joining the team more inevitable:
When Rondo realized his run with the Celtics was over this year, he planned to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer, league sources told Yahoo Sports […]Everything’s pushing Rondo closer to his inevitable free-agent fleeing to the Lakers this summer. As long as the coach is back, Rondo’s gone, sources told Yahoo Sports. The parting could be mutual.
While his plans to join the Lakers may not have changed, Wojnarowski believes that his chances of getting a maximum contract this summer are gone thanks to his play in Dallas:
He expected a maximum contract. Once Dallas made the trade, he was open to re-signing with the Mavericks – only there are no max contract offers for Rondo on the market. Not in Dallas, nor Los Angeles. He’s played his way out of that payday – not just this year, but since that terrible ACL injury two years ago.
Fans of the Lakers have been torn on the possibility of signing Rondo since the rumors began. While most acknowledge his talent, nearly everyone believes that he isn’t worth a maximum contract and are wary of the Lakers committing $20 million to him.
If he were to come in at less than a maximum deal, it would allow the Lakers to pursue another big-name free agent for a maximum or close to it. If the Lakers were to bring in Rondo along with another big name, it would have to be classified as a successful summer for the team.
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