Rival executives think Lakers will pursue Rajon Rondo in free agency


In a recent piece in Sports Illustrated, Chris Mannix had some potential devastating news for Celtics fans.
He writes:
There is one player who makes sense in LA next season: Rajon Rondo. Several rival executives believe the Lakers will make a strong run at Rondo next summer, and it’s easy to see why.

Alright, how about some reasons as to why the Lakers would want Rondo?
Rondo is young (28), plays a critical position and shares the same win-at-all-bleeping-cost attitude as Bryant. The Celtics are rebuilding and have a young playmaker in Marcus Smart, which may limit their desire to hand Rondo max money.

All valid points, however I don't believe the C's should let Rondo make it to free agency unless they are 99.99% certain he'll re-sign. It just wouldn't make sense for Danny Ainge to leave this to chance. Not when he could flip Rondo for some great assets (especially the way Rondo has started the season).

Also, the chances Rondo would re-sign here if another max deal is on the table are slim. When's the last time a star player wanted to sign/play with Boston?

Kevin Garnett refused to be traded here until Ray Allen got shipped over. Allen probably didn't want to play here either but had no choice in the matter. Sure Paul Pierce re-signed here when the team stunk but does Rondo have the same passion for the Celtics as Pierce does?

It's hard to say since Rondo isn't very vocal about stuff like that. Let's just hope he's actually like this.

Back to Mannix's point about Smart replacing Rondo, I would think that the Celtics are at least intrigued with the idea of keeping Rondo, Smart & Avery Bradley together given the way they've played together on the floor thus far.

At the same time, it's really early in the season and their play together may just be a fluke. Maybe Ainge isn't interested in a three guard lineup similar to what the Phoenix Suns are doing with Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Isiah Thomas anyway.

So some rival executives "believe" they'll make a big push. This is purely speculation but since it allegedly came from NBA GMs it suddenly has some traction. I'm not saying that it isn't happening or that the Lakers don't plan on offering Rondo big money, I'm just saying to wait before you sound the alarms & start burning your Rondo jerseys.

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