Dallas Mavericks guard Rajon Rondo, not Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic, reportedly is "the guy" for the Los Angeles Lakers this summer in free agency. Moreover, Rondo has the endorsement of Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant.
Los Angeles has been linked to a number of soon-to-be free agents, from Cleveland Cavaliers star Kevin Love to Orlando Magic forward Tobias Harris. Two of the names more routinely linked to the Lakers, however, have been Rondo and Dragic, and according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Los Angeles knows which point guard it'll sign in July.
"I think Rondo is the guy. Dragic is going to sign in Miami. I think there was a wink-wink, you know. I think he signs there for five years," Shelburne told ESPN's Max Kellerman this week, according to LakersNation. "... The best thing Rondo has going for him is that he's great in the playoffs and Kobe has endorsed him. In other words, Kobe thinks he's got the right stuff inside of him."
Shellburne is only the latest this month to predict Rondo ending up in Los Angeles. Kellerman last week quoted a source as saying Rondo was a "mortal lock" to sign with the Lakers in July, which followed a report from Sporting News' Sean Deveney claiming Rondo sat atop of the Lakers' wish list.
"The Lakers are not in the market for a guy who can make the team better; they need a bona fide star, the kind of player they thought they were getting when they traded for Dwight Howard in 2012," Deveney wrote Thursday. "... Assuming the Lakers stay in win-soon mode, it is a safe bet they will go hard after the two top point guards on the market, with Bryant's pal Rajon Rondo at the head of the list and Goran Dragic behind him."
Los Angeles could have anywhere from $18 million to $20 million to spend in free agency this summer.
