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

2. Rondo can still ball and is another outlet to ease creative responsibilities

Rajon Rondo may be coming into his 13th season in the NBA with a lot of mileage on his body from postseason basketball, but no one should think he can no longer play at a high level. The Lakers already have more playmakers than what LeBron James was dealing with last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and adding another floor general to the mix like Rondo only helps.

Having him on the roster should provide a veteran player to run the show when LeBron is off the floor, helping the latter preserve energy knowing the team will stay afloat when he rests. Rondo is arguably one of the best pick-and-roll navigators in the NBA, keeps everybody on the court in place in terms of offensive spacing and can captain a defense with his constant communication.

This type of on-court coaching, as detailed on the previous page, offsets some of his athletic decline, as well as developing into a 35.8 percent shooter on 2.2 attempts from 3-point range over the last three seasons. He worked well the past two seasons playing with less than stellar floor-spacing next to Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade with the Chicago Bulls, and sharing ball-handling responsibilities with Jrue Holiday this past year with the Pelicans.

His numbers show he hasn’t declined too much and he won’t be asked to carry the load as much as he did in recent seasons. Playing him for 20-23 minutes a game is perfect use of Rondo’s talents for the Lakers.