Rajon Rondo is returning to L.A. to compete for another championship; the veteran point guard will be doing it with the Clippers this time.
About a half-hour before the NBA trade deadline hit Thursday, the Clippers brokered a deal to bring Rondo from Atlanta in exchange for three-time Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams, two second-round picks and cash, according to multiple reports and confirmed by a league source.
Williams returns to Georgia, where he grew up, and back to the Hawks, for whom he played for two seasons between 2012-2014.
The move came the day after Williams’ 16 points in a Clippers win in San Antonio pushed his career total to 15,000. He’ll have finished his Clippers career having scored 4,975 of those points (approximately 33%) in his four seasons with the team, a tenure that included his highest-scoring seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19, when he averaged 22.6 points and 20 points per game, respectively.
After Wednesday’s game, Clippers Coach Tyronn Lue talked about Williams’ lasting impact on the Clippers.
“You know, he means so much to this team,” Lue said. “Coming off the bench, giving us the offensive punch that we need. Tonight he was great. He’s been playing for this team before I even got here. And that’s what he’s always generated. You don’t win Sixth Man multiple times without being able to score the basketball and play the way he does. It’s just a pleasure and honor to have him on our team.”
Appreciate your presence bro! @TeamLou23 that one hurt.
— Marcus Morris (@MookMorris2) March 25, 2021
Rondo, 35, signed a two-year, $15 million contract with Atlanta prior to this season — when the Clippers were said to have wanted to sign him. Williams, 34, is on an expiring $8 million contract.
This season with the Hawks, Rondo has appeared in 27 games, averaging 3.9 points, 3.5 assists and 2.0 rebounds. He’s shooting 40.0% from the floor and 37.8% from deep this season.
But he’s known for his playoff prowess, including last season, when his contributions proved important in the Lakers’ championship run in the Orlando bubble.
In 121 career playoff games, Rondo has averaged 13.3 points, 9.0 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game — a trend he continued last season.
Entering the postseason, Rondo was something of a bit player for the Lakers, averaging 7.1 points and 5.0 assists and, on some nights, looking almost unplayable. But he was magnificent in the playoffs, shooting 45.5% from the field, 40% from the floor while averaging 8.9 points and 6.6 assists and helping dictate the action with heady passes that put the Lakers on track to their 16th franchise title and Rondo’s second. He also won a title when he was a member of the 2007-08 Boston Celtics.
Lue was an assistant in Boston for two seasons while Rondo played there, in 2011-12.
More to come on this story.
from Irvine Business Signs https://ift.tt/3sp3sGx
via Irvine Sign Company
