LA Lakers star Rajon Rondo to go through surgery, rehab outside the bubble confirms coach Frank Vogel

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LA Lakers v Golden State Warriors

Amidst the news of 2 NBA players testing positive after reporting to the bubble and being sent away to be quarantined, the LA Lakers conducted their first virtual press conference of the week. When the LA Lakers' head coach Frank Vogel was asked for updates on the Rajon Rondo situation, he said that the veteran point guard would be undergoing surgery outside of the bubble, and will continue part of his rehab program right there.

Vogel said Rondo is a major loss, but they do expect to get him back for their playoff run at some point, especially considering the time period still to come with seeding games going through mid August.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) July 13, 2020

He admitted to the 14th-year veteran being a big loss to the LA Lakers' roster, but he believes that Lakers nation have the roster to combat his unavailability. Vogel also said that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was the likely replacement for Avery Bradley in the starting lineup, although the likes of Dion Waiters and JR Smith would also be considered.

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Kentavious did a phenomenal job when Avery was injured earlier in the season,” said Frank Vogel. “That’s really where I’m at in terms of what the starting lineup will look like.

Rondo's absence opens up more questions for LA Lakers

Given that Rondo was the de facto backup ballhandler when LeBron went to the bench, it opens up the question as to which LA Laker would take up that role during the restart. According to Vogel, these duties will be split across the roster, and he hinted that the likes of Kuzma and Anthony Davis, other than Alex Caruso and Quinn Cook, could also see more of the ball during LeBron's rest periods.

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Brooklyn Nets v LA Lakers

Kyle Kuzma was one of the LA Lakers' players present for the virtual interview, and he looked to be in good spirits. When asked about the practices, he responded by saying:

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“I think we’ve had some pretty good practices so far … guys have done a good job maintaining their conditioning and body levels.” He said there has been a bit of sloppiness, and it’ll take a bit for rhythm to come, as expected.

Kuzma said he would be up for the job if ballhandling duties would be given to him in LeBron's absence, but it would ultimately be Frank Vogel's call.

Kuzma said he feels comfortable initiating offense as a ballhandler, but said that’s a coaching decision. We think of the backcourt players in that sense usually, like Caruso or Cook off the bench w/Rondo out, but Kuz and AD can make plays as well.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) July 13, 2020

The LA Lakers are sitting pretty at the top of the Western Conference standings with a record of 49-14. With the situation of the 8th seed looking pretty tight but there being a clear drop in quality between seeds 7 and 8, we can expect them to have an easier first round of playoffs than the rest of the top 4 seeds as well.

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