CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – When the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Rajon Rondo from the Los Angeles Lakers, the Wine and Gold accomplished two goals when seeking help to replenish their depleted back court: acquire a veteran playmaker who can score and and distribute the basketball while adding a leader who can mentor this budding young core.
Rondo checks both of those boxes.
The Cavaliers finalized the deal on Monday to acquire the 35-year-old veteran guard in a three-team deal involving the New York Knicks.
New York receives Denzel Valentine from the Cavs along with the draft rights to prospects Wang Zhelin and Brad Newley in addition to cash from the Lakers. In return, the Knicks sent draft rights to Louis Labeyrie to LA.
Rondo won an NBA Championship with the Celtics in 2008 in just his second season and another in 2020 with the Lakers. He brings an instant infusion of skill and intellect to the Cavaliers roster in the wake of the injury to Ricky Rubio.
“I think it's, you know, the experience, one. A guy who can lead younger guys that guys respect,” Bickerstaff said. “He's one of the guys in point guards’ minds that one they grew up watching. So, they saw him at his best. But they respect him at a high level, and that's all our guys.”
The 16-year NBA veteran will have more of a role in the Cavs’ rotation than he did in Los Angeles, where he was averaging 3.1 points, 3.7 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 16.1 minutes per game for Lakers.
“We believe he can help us. You know, we believe that there's a role for him here where he's on the floor and contributing at a high level. You know, we feel like he complements the guys that we have. He can make our big guys better.
He can play with Darius.
Rondo hasn’t appeared in a game since Dec. 23 before he entered the league's health and safety protocols. Regardless, he provides a life raft to a backcourt that will be without Rubio and Collin Sexton for the remainder of the season.
“When you have a guy who's come in as an experience and won championships, our guys want to get there and they're not afraid or humble enough to ask those questions,” Bickerstaff said. “They know there's room for improvement for them in between us as a team to figure out how we get there.”
Darius Garland’s return to the lineup for Tuesday night’s loss to the Grizzlies provided a much-needed boost. Despite suffering a 110-106 setback, Garland provided an element to the offense that was missing during his four-game absence.
The addition of Rubio in the offseason has helped Garland flourish this season. He’s hoping adding Rondo to the mix will only continue that growth.
“I talked to “Do” already. I’m super excited. Another veteran that’s a point guard,” Garland said. “I’m super excited to learn from him, just to pick his brain a little bit. He has a lot of years in this league, so I hopefully I learn a lot from him.”
Jarrett Allen echoed Garland’s excitement at Rondo’s addition. After posting a double-double with 22-points and 12 rebounds against Memphis, Allen said the Cavs were admittedly playing with a little extra juice with the thought of bringing Rondo aboard.
“When you get a new player. You want to show him what the team is about, that we're going to go out there, play hard on both ends of the court,” Allen said. “Just having his presence, knowing that he's going to be playing with us to kind of like, give us a little extra, ‘let's show this guy what I got. That we're willing to play, and we play as a team.’”
Rondo was on the bench Tuesday night and will join the team on the upcoming six-game road trip. His 7,481 assists rank 14th all-time in NBA history and are the fourth-most among active players, but his biggest helper could be stepping into the lineup to aid this team that is taking on water.
“He has a hell of a background in this, in this league. A respectable player from every single level,” Allen said.