Rajon Rondo and Kobe Bryant are two of the fiercest competitors in the NBA today. They hate losing more than anything and have established a reputation around the league for their extremely high standards when it comes to playing the game. But is it possible that the two would be wearing the same uniform, playing for the same team this season?
Apparently, it is very possible. Last month, Sports Ilustrated's Chris Mannix reported that the Lakers will do everything in their power to bring Rondo to Los Angeles by season's end.
"Several rival executives believe the Lakers will make a strong run at Rondo next summer, and it's easy to see why," Mannix wrote. "Rondo is young (28), plays a critical position and shares the same win-at-all-bleeping-cost attitude as Bryant."
Mannix believes that the Boston Celtics have found their point guard of the future in rookie Marcus Smart and paying Rondo a massive contract extension - something that he will surely demand once he becomes a free agent - simply won't benefit the franchise in the long run especially that they are still in the middle of a rebuild. There is also the risk of Rondo walking away in free agency for nothing - as he is headed to unrestricted free agency which allows him to sign any offer from any team he wants - and the Celtics may just trade him this season for rebuilding-freindly assets than see it happen.
And when Rondo was seen having breakfast with Kobe Bryant in Boston on Thursday morning - the Los Angeles Lakers face the Celtics Friday night at the TD Garden - as discussed in a Reddit r/NBA thread, the Rajon Rondo trade to the Lakers rumors ignited even more.
Ok, maybe its just two accomplished stars and NBA champions getting some grub and talking just about anything but a future trade that would see them playing together in Purple and Gold. But the rumors of a Rondo-to-Lakers move was reinforced by a comment made by Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski on the Lakers starting point guard Jeremy Lin on The Home Team morning show.
I think this Lin is a one-year player with the Lakers. He's a backup point guard in the NBA. He's obviously be thrust into a bigger role because of who they have [on the Lakers roster], with the injuries and with Steve Nash being out for the year. You can see that Lin's confidence is not there. There's not a great chemistry between Kobe and Lin, that's obvious.
While Kobe may not enjoy great chemistry with Lin, he does share mutual respect with Rondo despite the fact that both stars represent rival franchises. Rondo is also a proven point guard in the league and it's not hard seeing him dish out perfect passes to the Mamba, making his life a lot easier in the offensive end. A front court that features Rondo and Bryant would surely be one of the best in the NBA and could be a duo that would be a start of another championship run for both stars.
But for now, everything is just pure speculation and we will never know whether a Rondo trade to the Lakers was really on the books this season, after it officially happens before the deadline. We are also not sure what kind of assets the Lakers will give in exchange for Rondo that will force Danny Ainge to pull the trigger on a trade deal. Perhaps a trade package that includes Jeremy Lin and Julius Randle? No one knows for sure. The rumors, however, keep getting louder and louder everyday.
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