With Kobe Bryant Recruiting, Are The Los Angeles Lakers Contenders To Sign Rajon Rondo This Summer?
By Sam Richmond
Given their current state, there’s no place to look but the future for the Los Angeles Lakers.
And if Kobe Bryant has his way, that future will include current Dallas Mavericks star Rajon Rondo.
Bryant is known to be friends with Rondo and made it clear in a recent interview with the Boston Herald that he will recruit the soon-to-be free agent this summer despite many believing the point guard will re-sign with Dallas.
"While Mavericks owner Mark Cuban expressed confidence his club can and will sign Rondo to a new deal, Bryant told the Herald he’s not about to cease working on getting him to LA.“No way,” Bryant said. “I’m not done. I’m not stopping until he signs an extension.”"
It certainly helps the Lakers’ chances of landing Rondo that one of the franchise’s all-time greats is willing to recruit to the degree Bryant apparently is.
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Still, even considering Bryant’s influence, the loads of cap space the Lakers can have this summer and even the allure of living in L.A., it’s hard to imagine this team signing Rondo.
Rondo has been a great fit in Dallas ever since the team acquired him in a trade with the Boston Celtics in December. The Mavericks have gone 11-4 with Rondo, helping them achieve an impressive 30-13 record on the season.
One would have to figure that it would take a lot for Rondo to leave the Mavericks, a team that has a winning roster right now, can offer him the most money this summer and is clearly committed to keeping him, as evidenced by the trade package they gave up to acquire him.
Unfortunately for Bryant and the Lakers, from a basketball perspective, they don’t have much to offer. Los Angeles is 12-30 and poised to finish as one of the worst teams in the NBA this season. It will take years for this team to be able to field a lineup as talented as Dallas has right now.
And although Rondo is friends with Bryant, it shouldn’t surprise anybody if he weren’t exactly dying to hitch his wagon to Kobe’s. Bryant is 36 and clearly on the decline, as he’s shooting just 37.2 percent from the field on a whopping 20.6 shot attempts per game this season.
Bryant is a legend and one of the greatest players ever, but no one could legitimately argue that playing alongside him is a better situation for Rondo than the one he has now.
At 28, Rondo is in the prime of his career. He’s not going to risk wasting his peak years — as was the case during his final few years with the Boston Celtics — to play with a soon-to-be-retired Bryant.
One can’t fault Bryant for doing everything he can to persuade Rondo to Los Angeles. Getting a talent like Rondo to join him in Los Angeles is the only chance he’ll have at doing any sort of winning in his final years in the NBA.
But the Lakers simply aren’t the extremely attractive free agent destination that they usually are, so count on Kobe’s mission ultimately being a failed one.