Lakers Notes: Jordan, Rondo, Roster, Ranking

August 30, 2021

It’s been quite an offseason of change for the Lakers, who have revamped their roster with a star in Russell Westbrook, as well as a number of other lower-priced veterans.

In the process, they have become the oldest team in NBA history.

Now, they will soon be adding Rajon Rondo, and have also been linked to Nets center DeAndre Jordan.

Of course, Jordan is still a member of the Nets, but word is, the sides are contemplating a contract buyout. But it’s never too soon to link the Lakers to an experienced player who would come on what would surely be a minimum contract.

As Jason Reed of Fansided noted, signing Jordan would make sense.

“The Lakers can certainly use another big man as well. The team only has three traditional bigs in Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard and Marc Gasol and there is no guarantee that Gasol will even play next season,” Reed wrote.

More from LA

Rondo will be the fifth former member of the Lakers to return to the franchise, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski noted. The others are Howard, Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington and Kent Bazemore. Overall, only four members of last year’s team remain.
As for being the oldest team, Rondo, 35, is actually just one of the over-30 club in LA. He joins Carmelo Anthony (37), James (36), Gasol (36), Ariza (36), Howard (35), Wesley Matthews (34), Ellington (33), Westbrook (32) and Bazemore (32).
John Schuhmann of NBA.com lists the Lakers as the No. 2 overall team in his latest power rankings, behind only the Suns. “If the Lakers aren’t back to being the best team in the West (and maybe they are), they’re at least back to being one of the league’s most fascinating experiments,” Schuhmann wrote.
Finally, an interesting piece from Harrison Faigen of SB Nation takes a look at how so many former Grizzlies have become Lakers. “Of the 31 players on guaranteed deals to play for the Lakers over the 2019-20 and 20-21 seasons, as well as the upcoming 21-22 season, four were paid to go away by the Grizzlies, a fairly significant 12.9% of the Lakers’ rosters over that time period,” Faigen wrote.