‘Rajon Rondo to leave the Lakers’: Clippers and Celtics on alert as Lakers’ point guard decides to enter free agency

At $2.96 million, Rajon Rondo was quite easily the best value for money player on the Lakers’ championship roster. He will be opting out of the player option he has for next season.

Rondo was underwhelming for the Lakers through his first season in the team. He was even worse during this year’s regular season games. A number of Lakers fans were calling for him to be relegated to the bench.

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But since struggling in his first outing in the bubble, Rondo turned up the heat. He brought his best version of himself out as the Lakers cantered to a championship.

Rondo to become a free agent, will be a highly coveted player in the market

Through the playoffs, Rondo improbably finished as the best 3-point shooter on the Lakers roster by percentage. He also set a record for assists by a player coming off the bench, breaking Ginobili’s record from 2014.

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All in all, he provided the Lakers with everything they needed with LeBron on the bench. They can offer him up to 175% of his original contract. But there’s a pretty good chance that there are other teams vying for his signature willing to pay up to $10 million.

Many teams in the league vying for a title don’t have a true backup point guard option. The Celtics, for example, are stuck with Brad Wanamaker, a clear third-stringer. The Clippers don’t have a single true point guard on their roster.

Other teams like the Nuggets will also be heavily interested in the 2-time champion. This year’s free agent market is a bit less competitive than the previous 4 years, so there will be more money going around up for grabs for Rondo.