Don't go ordering those forum blue and gold Rajon Rondo jerseys just yet.
The mercurial point guard, whose brief and forgettable Dallas Mavericks tenure is almost certainly at an end, is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
And while the Los Angeles Lakers have long been considered one of his most likely landing spots – whether because they need a point guard or because he and Kobe Bryant seem like-minded, and had brunch together that time, and Kobe basically said he won't sleep until Rondo's a Laker – the team's front office is reportedly uncertain of Rondo's value.
From Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding:
But what should be made clear, according to team sources, is that (VP of basketball operations Jim) Buss is not the believer he was earlier in the season when it comes to Rondo, and (general manager Mitch) Kupchak is toting enough healthy skepticism that he sees Rondo as value only at a certain low price.
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The Lakers have higher priorities when it comes to spending their precious 2015 salary-cap space. They are hopeful of buying a foundational piece – something they aren't convinced Rondo is.
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The Lakers will have perhaps $22 million to spend this summer – and they're somewhat torn internally how much a newly motivated Rondo, 29, might push the franchise forward.
Rondo is a former champion and two-time All-Defensive first teamer, who was an All-Star as recently as 2013. But he hasn't been close to the same player since tearing his ACL that year, and his already-shaky shooting has cratered completely.
The Mavericks experiment was a colossal failure on both a basketball level and an interpersonal one. The notoriously ornery point guard stalled out Dallas's previously free-flowing offense and butted heads repeatedly with head coach Rick Carlisle.
There are reasons to believe the Lakers might be a better fit for Rondo – Kobe has his back, coach Byron Scott doesn't care for modern basketball strategy – but his value is certainly difficult to peg.
Carlisle called the Mavericks' gamble on Rondo "a risk worth taking." After seeing how that worked out for Dallas, will the Lakers be able to say the same?
