Rajon Rondo Rumors: Lakers Made Dennis Schroder Trade Believing PG Will Leave LA

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

The Los Angeles Lakers have a motive in potentially adding Oklahoma City guard Dennis Schroder to their roster this offseason—the team did so “under the strong belief that they will be losing Rajon Rondo in free agency,” according to Marc Stein of the New York Times. 

Per Stein, the 34-year-old “is expected to command free-agent interest that exceeds the Lakers’ budget constraints.” 

It was reported in October that Rondo was expected to opt out of his deal with the Lakers, which included a player option worth $2.7 million in the upcoming season (h/t Dan Feldman of NBC Sports). Stein reported at the end of last month that Rondo might not be headed too far from the Lakers, with the nearby Clippers interested in pursuing him at the start of free agency. 

Rondo, a four-time All-Star, was largely a bench player for the Lakers this season, but it was in their quest for a league title that he demonstrated his championship pedigree.

With a persuasive performance in the postseason, where he posted 8.9 points, 6.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds while shooting .493 and .400 from beyond the arc in 16 postseason games, the 14-year veteran—who played for nine seasons in Boston, where he won his first NBA championship—proved that he is worth more than the league minimum.

In return, the Lakers will replace him with a younger star in Schroder, who appeared in 65 games for the Thunder and finished as the runner-up for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year Award, posting 18.9 points, 4.0 assists and 3.6 rebounds last season.