Rajon Rondo appears set to return to the Los Angeles Lakers. After a busy offseason in which Rondo was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Memphis Grizzlies, the NBA champion point guard was expected to receive a buy out and have the flexibility to pick wherever he’s going to play next.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the buy out has happened, and as a result, the Lakers have moved into pole position to acquire their former point guard’s services.
Guard Rajon Rondo has agreed to a contract buyout with Memphis and will become a free agent, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 28, 2021
The Los Angeles Lakers are the frontrunners to sign Rajon Rondo after he clears waivers on Monday, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Rondo was a key part of the Lakers‘ 2020 championship team. https://t.co/lT4jCtoCXw
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 28, 2021
After agreeing to a buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies, the Los Angeles Lakers are the frontrunners to sign guard Rajon Rondo, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 28, 2021
Rondo originally joined the Lakers ahead of the 2018-19 season, then played a major role in their run to a championship during the NBA’s Orlando Bubble a year later. He ended up leaving the team in free agency before the 2020-21 campaign when he opted to join the Atlanta Hawks, but returned to L.A. ahead of the trade deadline as a member of the Clippers.
His time with the team didn’t reach the highs they did during his first stint in the City of Angels, and he was eventually part of the trade that saw the Clippers reunite with Eric Bledsoe. Now, he’s headed back to Los Angeles, presumably with an eye on adding some depth to the team’s backcourt behind new point guard Russell Westbrook.
Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/lakers-frontrunners-acquire-rajon-rondo-grizzlies-buy-out/