Los Angeles Lakers: 3 reasons Rajon Rondo is a good pickup

3. Player-coach mentality for young players

There’s no doubt that Rondo is one of the smartest basketball players in the NBA and has been seen coaching teammates from the bench in recent seasons. He has aspirations to be a head coach when his playing career ends, and he clearly has the understanding of the game to transition pretty quickly.

Rondo has a reputation of being hard to deal with and a bad teammate, but the only tumultuous time where he wasn’t loved by his teammates was his time with the Dallas Mavericks, so I don’t expect any issues with the Los Angeles Lakers after developing into a beloved locker room figure.

He has a great opportunity to trigger the coaching/mentoring phase of his career by taking Lonzo Ball and the other young players on this roster. The youthful Lakers have strong basketball IQs, but learning how to compete and furthering their understanding of the NBA game is a great chance to benefit players and Rondo, and it’s not like the veteran floor general will take away shots from these players, as he’s averaged 9.5 field goal attempts per game over his career.

Picking the brain of one of the most cerebral guards over the last decade, especially one with a suspect jumper for most of his career, is something Lonzo Ball should not take for granted. Rondo is a gym rat who loves the game. I expect his infectious energy and big personality to rub off on Lonzo (along with pushing him for playing time) and the other young players while Rondo is off the floor, barking out screens and plays as usual.