Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Just before the 3 p.m. EST NBA trade deadline, the Los Angeles Clippers have traded Lou Williams to the Atlanta Hawks for Rajon Rondo.
The Los Angeles Clippers have finally found the point guard they so desperately needed. With about 30 minutes to spare before the deadline, the Clippers shipped Lou Williams, two second-round draft picks and cash to Atlanta in exchange for veteran point guard Rajon Rondo, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Clippers address point guard problem but lose scoring
Last year’s bubble meltdown made it obvious that the Clippers desperately needed another floor general. After their implosion against the Denver Nuggets last year, it was assumed that LA would pursue Rajon Rondo or Chris Paul in the offseason. The gentlemen landed on the Atlanta Hawks and Phoenix Suns respectively, but now the Clippers have circled back to Rondo just before the deadline.
Rondo was brought to Atlanta this summer to help expedite the growth of their young superstar and franchise player Trae Young. He has not been good for the Hawks this season, only appearing in 27 games. He’s averaging 3.9 points, 3.5 assists, and two rebounds.
Los Angeles has watched their experiment with Reggie Jackson fail, and now loses consistent scoring off of the bench, which they had needed in the past when Kawhi is locked down or Pandemic P is making an appearance. Rondo doesn’t provide much scoring but definitely proved to be essential in the Lakers’ pursuit of a championship last year. The Clippers are taking a risk on him but are obviously not in the running for Kyle Lowry anymore.
They’ll have to hope that Playoff Rondo can get back to himself if they want to compete with the Lakers and now the Nuggets, who have become much more formidable in the last few hours.