Claims still suggest that Rondo is top of the free agents list…
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The Los Angeles Lakers will reportedly not be involved in the trade market in the coming months despite speculation of a move for Boston Celtics star Rajon Rondo.
Despite a poor 5-15 record so far this season which leaves them just one place above last spot in the Western Conference, it is understood that there will be no help on the way in the more immediate future.
It is a difficult transitional period for the franchise after enjoying years of success, but with a lack of salary cap space and assets that could be exchanged for players who could make an impact, it appears as though they are stuck with what they have for the time being.
“The Lakers, meanwhile, don’t figure to be very active on the trade market in the coming months, according to league sources. The Lakers were able to come up with the draft pick (from Houston) in exchange for taking on the contract of guard Jeremy Lin, and they’d be interested in adding another pick,” Sean Deveney of Sporting News reports.
“Los Angeles can hang on to its own first-round pick only if that pick falls in the Top 5. Even at 5-14 heading into Friday, the team’s pick would fall at No. 6, meaning they’d require lottery luck in order to hang onto it. If it is not in the Top 5, the Lakers will send the pick to the Suns.
“The chief issue for the Lakers when it comes to potential trades is obvious from a glance at the roster — there are slim pickings. “There isn’t much there you’re going to give up a lot for,” one general manager told Sporting News.
Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer, but despite having breakfast with Kobe Bryant on Thursday morning, the pair insisted that it was merely a social meeting rather than a recruitment pitch.
Nevertheless, it is reported that Rondo remains a person of interest to the Lakers heading into 2015, and although the Celtics are keen to re-sign him and make him a focal point of their rebuild, it remains to be seen if the 2008 NBA champion would be keen on a switch to the West coast.
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