NBA Rumors: Rajon Rondo favored to join the LA Lakers if Memphis Grizzlies buy him out

2019 NBA champion and four-time All-Star Rajon Rondo is widely expected to join the LA Lakers if the Memphis Grizzlies decide to buy him out.

Rondo was traded by the LA Clippers earlier in August after playing just 18 games and starting 1 since his March deadline move from the Atlanta Hawks. The Memphis Grizzlies sent the 31-year old Eric Bledsoe to the LA Clippers in exchange, but are expected to buy out Rondo, who will enter the final year of a $15 million contract that he signed with the Hawks. Recent reports suggest that the LA Lakers are looking to bring him back in case the Grizzlies decide to buy him out.

NBA Rumors: Rajon Rondo expected to join the LA Lakers if Memphis Grizzlies buy him out

Rajon Rondo signed a $15 million, two-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks after attaining free agency at the end of the 2019 season. That season, he won what was his second NBA championship after winning his first with the Boston Celtics back in 2008. Rajon Rondo shares a great professional relationship with Lakers ace and NBA legend LeBron James, who publicly rued his exit back in 2019.

Regardless, it now seems that there is a possibility of the two reuniting. In recent days, the Memphis Grizzlies have been rumored to be considering terminating Rondo’s contract. Rajon Rondo is owed around $8 million in the 2021-22 NBA season but a buyout will allow him to negotiate a new deal with the LA Lakers.

According to ESPN writer Ramona Shelburne, the LA Lakers are a strong candidate for Rajon Rondo’s signature. Rondo did not have the best of times in the 2020-21 NBA season and struggled for regular playing time at the PG position with both the Atlanta Hawks and the LA Clippers.

The Lakers have added Russell Westbrook but are a bit short on depth. Rondo is an elite three-point shooter which is one of the priorities that the LA Lakers have. Additionally, the Westbrook deal means that the Lakers cannot go in for an expensive contract, another reason why a potential move for Rajon Rondo might just be on the cards in the coming days.