"Rondo got outta LA just in time" - Kendrick Perkins passes jibe at the LA Lakers while referring to former teammate Rajon Rondo
Following another miserable display by the LA Lakers on Wednesday night, former NBA player and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins weighed in on the Lakeshow's tribulations.
Taking an interesting perspective on his remarks regarding the Lakers struggles, Perkins made reference to former LA Lakers guard Rajon Rondo in a tweet.
"Rondo got out of LA just in time! Don't mind me tho and Carry on..."
Rondo got outta of LA just in time! Don’t mind me tho and Carry on…
Rajon Rondo, a champion with the LA Lakers in 2020 was also a former teammate of Kendrick Perkins when the two won the title with the Boston Celtics in 2008.
Although Rondo joined the Lakers earlier this season following a stint with the Atlanta Hawks, but was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier in the month of January. Meanwhile, the Lakers have seen a significant downfall as they currently occupy the ninth seed in the Western Conference.
Meanwhile, Rondo sees himself as part of a young and competitive Cavaliers team that is currently in the top four of the Eastern Conference. While his role with the Cavaliers is primarily to mentor Darius Garland and as a reliable veteran off the bench, the 35-year-old has been a great acquisition for Cleveland.
What is going wrong with the LA Lakers?
The LA Lakers were viewed as title favorites at the start of the season. A new roster did imply some chemistry issues to start things off, but the star-studded cast featuring LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook promised a bright future.
Unfortunately, the season has been anything but bright for the Purple and Gold. With injuries and chemistry issues plaguing the team throughout the season, the once championship-contenders find themselves contending for a play-in spot, much less a playoff position.
In a season that could be termed snakebitten, the Lakers have faced immense adversity with injuries to their lineups. To add to that, the lack of consistency on both ends of the floor has been exacerbated by the lack of chemistry within the team itself.
A larger concern emerges in the form of Russell Westbrook. Westbrook has seemed out of place with the Lakers since the start of the season. While it could be attributed to adjustment issues, things just never seemed to get better for the superstar guard.
Bearing the brunt of the criticism, Westbrook was out of the rotation in the final moments of the game on multiple occasions and following his comments after the Milwaukee game on Tuesday, he was out of the rotation altogether.
Frank Vogel, asked directly by @billoram if there's a scenario in which Russell Westbrook isn't on the team after tomorrow: "If there's way to improve our team, we'll improve our team. I've got nothing else to say about the trade deadline."
The loss against Portland on Wednesday feels like the final nail in the coffin in that regard. As the trade deadline looms over the Lakers, the side has a lot of decisions to make.
Engaging in trade talks with several teams, the Lakers may see some significant changes to their roster over the span of the next few hours.
Sources: The Lakers, Knicks and Raptors have discussed a 3-team trade.
Lakers get Cam Reddish and Alec Burks.
Knicks get Goran Dragic and draft picks.
Raptors get Talen Horton-Tucker and Nerlens Noel.
There’s also a chance Kendrick Nunn is added to the trade as talks continue