The New Orleans Pelicans are reportedly meeting with free agent guard Rajon Rondo today.
According to Zach Lowe, New Orleans Pelicans officials and free agent guard Rajon Rondo will meet today to discuss a possible one-year contract. The meeting will take place in Louisville. Rondo was released by the Chicago Bulls on June 30th just before free agency started. Other teams interested in Rondo’s services include the Los Angeles Lakers. Pelicandebrief’s own Tyler Pearson wrote on this a when speculation of his release was popular.
Pelicans officials are meeting with Rajon Rondo today in Louisville about a possible one-year deal, league sources tell ESPN.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) July 13, 2017
I am unsure on how much this moves the needle for the 2017 Pelicans as they have plenty of options at guard. If the deal does get done, the good thing would be the opportunity to slide Jrue Holiday over to shooting guard. This would give Holiday a chance to rest offensively with the idea of Rondo, Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins using a heavy dose of pick-and-roll situations.
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Although Rondo has been labeled as a headcase, he would give the team another veteran guard to attempt to break the playoff threshold.
This would eat into the chances that Quinn Cook might have had in making the team as a back up guard with E’Twaun Moore and Jordan Crawford also on the roster.
Moore started 22 games last season.
The Pelicans have very little room when it comes to the salary cap with the re-signing of Holiday. If there was a formidable wing on the market willing to take the same offer as Rondo, I’d think they would be better suited going that way. However, if they still believe in Solomon Hill to provide any value to this team, signing another guard to create should be fine.
When a team like the Pelicans have numerous bad contracts, these are the types of players they have to target: a veteran player that hopefully creates a positive impact on the team and help squeeze it into playoff position. With Cousins’ contract being up after the season, it is imperative that the front office shows him that they will do whatever it takes to compete. And apparently, Cousins is a fan of reuniting with Rondo after the duo played together in Sacramento in 2015-16.
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In 69 games last season, Rondo averaged 7.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.7 assists with Chicago. He also shot a career high 37.6% from deep, which is an important considering how spacing is stressed in today’s NBA.