Report: Lakers (still) interested in Rajon Rondo
Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo has been rumored in trade talks for some time and as recent as before this season. Celtics GM Danny Ainge seems insistent that they have no intention of letting go of their All-Star point guard, and Rondo himself has said that he has no intention of leaving Boston.
But cause for more speculation surfaces with this picture that leaked of Rondo sharing a breakfast with Kobe Bryant in Boston as the Lakers visit the Celtics tonight.
Another shot of Kobe & Rondo grabbing breakfast in Boston: pic.twitter.com/TK6qBEB5qx
— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) December 4, 2014
Consistent with prior reports, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reports there is still heavy interest from the Lakers when it comes to Rajon Rondo:
While there are no active talks between the two franchises involving a trade for Rondo, sources said the teams did have a brief discussion a few months ago.
Rondo will be a free agent this summer, and sources stressed that the Celtics would prefer to re-sign him.
Their willingness to engage in talks regarding Rondo is merely informational at this point, sources said.
However, the Lakers have long held interest in the point guard, who helped Boston defeat them in the 2008 NBA Finals as a rookie, and sources indicate he is high on their list of free-agent targets this summer.
Free agency would be the window for the Lakers to make a run at Rondo, as many teams will also do. In order for Bryant to salvage any type of potential success in the final days of his career, it would be more than prudent for him to have many of these breakfasts throughout the season with impending free agents.
The Celtics’ true plans are still unknown being that they have a large crop of guards on their roster, including their lottery draft pick Marcus Smart, who is still recovering from injury. Whether it’s the Lakers someone else, Rondo will have the opportunity to revamp his career if he so chooses when free agency rolls around next summer.
