2017 NBA free agency: 5 best remaining free agents

3. Rajon Rondo

Rajon Rondo’s reputation may precede him, but that doesn’t mean he’s a totally washed up player at this point.

Given what’s left on the NBA free agent market, Rondo’s warts aren’t horrible compared to the rest of the pool.

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Last season, the point guard averaged 7.8 points and 6.7 assists per game with the Bulls. Those numbers aren’t impressive, but he was able to work well on a team that had very little shooting and spacing. A lot of the driving lanes he was used to early in his career were clogged in Chicago.

Defensively, Rondo demonstrated strong play. He racked up 2.7 defensive win shares and a 1.6 defensive box plus/minus. While those numbers aren’t elite, or even great, they do show that he can still be a positive contributor on that end of the floor.

The playoffs are what really increased the former Celtic’s stock. In the two games he played before his injury, he averaged 11.5 points, 10.0 assists, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game.

The Bulls won both of those games with Rondo on the court, but wound up losing the series once he was unable to return.

At this point in his career, the Kentucky Wildcat product is probably looking to help a team return to the playoffs, though ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Los Angeles Lakers are interested in the point guard’s services.

Are the Lakers a team that can return to the playoffs? I’m not sold on that quite yet.

Regardless, whoever ends up with Rondo will be getting a battle-tested veteran who still has some gas left in the tank.