Los Angeles Lakers: 2018-19 player grades for Rajon Rondo
By Amaar Burton
The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t get to see the best of Rajon Rondo in his first season with the team, but the veteran was still one of L.A.’s top producers.
When the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a deal with LeBron James to kick off the 2018 free agency period, more stars were expected to follow. Fans and media — and Lakers’ franchise leadership — had visions of big names like Kawhi Leonard and DeMarcus Cousins joining LeBron to make L.A. an instant championship contender.
They ended up with Rajon Rondo.
Going into the 2018-19 season, Rondo and LeBron were the only players on the Lakers with All-Star accolades. For Rondo, however, the most recent of his four All-Star nods had come in 2013 when he was with the Boston Celtics.
A man who was signed to provide some savvy playmaking and veteran poise at point guard, and then activate “Playoff Rondo” mode when the Lakers inevitably returned to the postseason, ended up being L.A.’s second-biggest offseason addition.
For the optimist, that was still a good thing, assuming Playoff Rondo was part of the package.
Playoff Rondo helped the Celtics win a championship in 2008. He nearly averaged a triple-double in the 2009 postseason, putting up 16.9 points, 9.8 assists and 9.7 rebounds per game. He once dropped 44 points in a 2012 Eastern Conference Finals game against LeBron and the Miami Heat.
Playoff Rondo also averaged 14.4 points and 13.3 assists for the New Orleans Pelicans in last year’s first round upset of the Portland Trail Blazers.
The opportunity to morph into Playoff Rondo never materialized this year, however. The Lakers missed the postseason with a 37-45 record.
Rondo was hampered by injuries this season. He played in 46 games, starting 29 times as he platooned with second-year point guard Lonzo Ball. Rondo averaged 9.2 points, 8.0 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 29.8 minutes per game.
As much of a bust as 2018-19 was for the Lakers as a team, though, it wasn’t all bad for Rondo individually. Here is an evaluation of Rondo’s season.