The first few days of practice for the Los Angeles Lakers led to an unfortunate development for the best team in the Western Conference. Rajon Rondo suffered a broken right thumb that will require surgery, according to ESPN’s Malika Andrews and Dave McMenamin. This is a major loss for the Lakers, as Rondo is their most experienced operator at the point guard spot outside of LeBron James.
The Lakers say Rondo fractured his right thumb. He will undergo surgery and is expected to return to full basketball activities in six to eight weeks. https://t.co/589H5uWYYd
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) July 13, 2020
The Lakers definitely have other options and this is another reason why bringing in J.R. Smith and Dion Waiters was important. The Lakers won’t replace Rondo with a substitute player, especially because they probably hope he can be ready to play again if the Lakers have a deep playoff run, which they are expected to.
In addition to more time for Smith and Waiters, the Lakers will also rely even more now on their other guards, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Alex Caruso. Caruso also may get some more time to run the show as the point guard when LeBron needs rest than he did while Rondo was available.
With a smaller traveling coaching staff however, it would not be a surprise to see Rondo be an asset to the coaching staff as he’s often lauded by his teammates for his incredible basketball IQ. While he’s hurt, the respect Rondo carries from his teammates still makes him an important figure for this Lakers group.
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