Getty Former Lakers JaVale McGee & Rajon Rondo.
After weeks of speculation, the NBA trade deadline ended up being underwhelming for the Los Angeles Lakers. They got into the Kyle Lowry sweepstakes late but couldn’t pull off a deal. While the Lakers decided to stay put, the other Los Angeles team decided to make a big trade.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Clippers are sending Lou Williams to the Atlanta Hawks for Rajon Rondo.
Hawks are trading Rajon Rondo to the Clippers for Lou Williams, source tells ESPN.
The Clippers have been needing a point guard and leader for a while. Rondo should be a strong fit. Williams has been one of the team’s most consistent players of the years. He won the Sixth Man of the Year award twice while with the Clippers. His scoring off the bench will be missed.
Rondo hasn’t been an effective player in the regular season for years now. However, he flips a switch in the playoffs. The Clippers don’t really care much about the regular season. They need to prove they can win in the playoffs. Rondo will certainly help them in that aspect. A Lakers-Clippers matchup in the playoffs is very possible. It’ll be interesting to see Rondo face his former team. He was important for the Lakers en route to their championship last season.
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JaVale McGee Traded to Nuggets
Another key cog for the Lakers last season was JaVale McGee. Though his role was lessened in the playoffs, he started a lot of games for the team. Los Angeles was reportedly interested in bringing him back after trading him the offseason. That’s not likely to happen now. Per Wojnarowski, McGee has been traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Denver Nuggets for Isaiah Hartenstein and two future protected second-round picks.
Denver is acquiring center Cleveland center JaVale McGee for Isaiah Hartenstein and two future protected second-round picks, sources tell ESPN.
This essentially closes the door and the Lakers bringing him back. It was always going to be tough. Even if McGee was bought out by the Cavaliers, the team wouldn’t have been able to sign him. He played in Denver earlier in his career so this is a bit of a homecoming. Now that he’s back in the Western Conference, he should be seeing the Lakers quite a bit.
More Former Lakers on the Move
This year’s NBA trade deadline was very active with former Lakers. Avery Bradley wasn’t with the team during the championship run but he started many regular-season games. He signed with the Miami Heat this offseason but he’s already on the move. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Bradley is getting sent to the Houston Rockets as part of the Victor Oladipo trade.
Sources: Houston traded Victor Oladipo to Miami for Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk and a draft swap.
The Lakers were hoping to bring Bradley back in the offseason but he decided to sign with Miami. He’s probably regretting that decision now as the Rockets might be the NBA’s worst team.
Mo Wagner was only briefly with the Lakers during the 2018-2019 season but he was another former member of the team to get traded. He’s off to play for the Boston Celtics, per Wojnarowski.
There was a lot of movement this year from former Lakers.
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