Sweet moves spun Rondo back to Lakers
Rajon Rondo is slick. Real slick. So slick he actually got away with it. Rondo, a crafty and pesky veteran point guard, is a two-time NBA champion, once as the floor general for the 2008 Celtics and again as a backup point guard on LeBron James’ 2020 championship Lakers.
And Rondo played so well off the bench in Los Angeles that he earned a two-year, $15 million deal with the Hawks to back up Trae Young just one year after signing with the Lakers at the veteran’s minimum.
Maybe he just missed L.A.’s beaches. Rondo made his way back to the West Coast in a trade, this time to the Clippers with Lou Williams back to the Hawks.
And after the Clippers lost to the Suns in the Western Conference Finals, they traded Rondo to the Grizzlies. Who cut him two weeks later.
So he could sign back with the Lakers.
There’s a nonzero chance Rondo had the foresight first to plot his escape, then to spin the block for another championship run. The Lakers are even more loaded this time around, now adding Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard and Malik Monk to the mix.
And whether or not this was all part of Rondo’s grand plan, there’s a bit of serendipity working in his favor nonetheless.
SKILLED OR SHARP?
Ex-Nets guard Mike James has made the case for Kyrie Irving on the NBA’s Mt. Rushmore of skill.
A graphic from ClutchPoints listed LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant as the four most skilled players in NBA history.
James responded to the graphic and said: “I can’t lie to y’all. Kyrie Irving prolly deserve to be on this list. James Harden (has an) argument too.”
A Twitter user then posited that in vouching for Irving, James was slighting Stephen Curry.
“Kyrie more skilled then Steph. Steph just shoot better. Everything is in Kyrie favor skill wise. But whatever u say fam,” James wrote.
It’s a fun debate: Irving is easily one of the most skilled players in NBA history. His supreme artistry with the ball plus an ability to hit high degree-of-difficulty shots from anywhere on the floor makes him bulletproof in the arena of skill. But Curry is the definition of skill in his own right, and is easily the most skilled shooter in the history of basketball.
This is one of those times you wish the NBA had a one-on-one tournament at its annual All-Star Weekend. If the league doesn’t ever sanction this event, there’s a park in Harlem that Curry and Irving can use to settle the score once and for all.
HIGH PRAISE
Noted NBA analyst David Aldridge has ranked the Nets as having the third-best offseason among all 30 NBA teams. They trail only the Rockets and the Clippers, in Aldridge’s estimation.
“The Nets, literally a foot short from making the Eastern finals despite playing without Harden and Irving, added to their largesse by getting (Patty) Mills, he of the career 39% from deep, from the Spurs,” Aldridge wrote.
“You can’t find a better team guy, but Mills can also be Olympic Patty all he wants in NYC. Durant’s extension will likely be followed by Harden’s long-term commitment, leaving the Nets as an Eastern power for the next half-decade.”
That about sums up the Nets’ offseason. The rich just got richer, and they’re set to benefit.