Cavs trade for Lakers PG Rajon Rondo would work
Just hours after the Rajon Rondo trade rumors emanated out of a Cleveland.com column, The Athletic’s Shams Charania was reporting the Cavs and the Lakers were in serious talks concerning a deal.
There’s no replacing Rubio. He was at the right place in his career at the right time. He was a perfect fit for the role he was asked to play, which was running the offense in a back-up role, perfectly complementing Cleveland’s tall-ball style.
His season ending ACL injury, in addition to the torn meniscus suffered by Collin Sexton at the beginning of the season, has understandably given the organization a great sense of injury to replace Rubio.
Enter Rondo, who at age 35, is a long ways from the All-Star talent he was with the Celtics in the early 2010s.
That’s OK, though, because the Cavs aren’t looking for an Alpha player, they need someone to run the offense, pass the ball and play some defense. That’s really Rondo’s game now, as he doesn’t score.
He’s playing just over 16 minutes per night as a reserve with LA and averaging 3.7 assists. He’s averaging 3.1 points, and that’s an obvious drop off from the 13.1 Rubio was averaging.
It will be interesting to see if Rondo can improve that scoring total, even if it’s just a little playing with the second team, which includes a rejuvenated Kevin Love. He’s reportedly interested in joining the Cavs, presumably because more will be asked of him in Cleveland that what’s currently going on in LA.
The two sides are still working out a trade. Cleveland would have to include someone in the deal or waive somebody if they want to get Rondo using a trade exception. The veteran is due to earn $2.6. million.
It’s really a low risk move, as the Cavs could just cut the cord if things don’t pan out.
Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto threw the name of Quinn Cook, who is back from playing in Europe. It would’ve been hard to complain about adding the Duke product, but it’s likely he could still be around if things don’t pan out with Rondo.
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Let’s replace an established vet with another established vet and see what happens.