Rajon Rondo Praises Lonzo Ball, LeBron James After Signing With The Lakers

Rajon Rondo officially became a Los Angeles Laker on Friday and has already been pretty vocal about two of his star teammates.

Rondo, the 32-year-old NBA veteran, who once won an NBA title with the Lakers’ rivals, the Boston Celtics, told reporters that he was more focused on winning championships with the team than starting. While the 20-year-old Lonzo Ball started for the team last season and plays the same position as Rondo, the veteran point guard seems to have no intention to upstage the rising star.

Instead, Rondo told reporters how excited he was to play with Ball.

“From what I’ve seen, I’m excited to get a player that age and try to help him as much as I can, as far as understanding the game and getting his game up to speed as far as at a high level,” Rondo said, according to ESPN reports. “Especially with the amount of pressure now that the organization has on him.”

While Rondo has been an NBA All-Star and champion in his career, he insists his role on the team is not to be in the starting lineup. What’s important to the veteran guard is to win a championship, which he believes having LeBron James on the team would help him accomplish.

Rondo did not make any promises of instant championships, but he did outline his expectations for winning on a squad with James.

“You put any team, any group of players around LeBron James, as he has done [eight] straight times, he went to the Finals. So my expectations are the exact same thing,” Rondo told reporters Friday, according to ESPN. “Even with the Warriors adding [DeMarcus Cousins] and the Rockets being who they are, I think we fit right up there in the mix.”

The point guard explained his role to reporters as one where he will help the Lakers win games in “any way possible.” He mentioned that along with the young core that the Lakers have built, he plans to get his teammates the best shots possible that can lead them to victory.

For Rondo, playing with the likes of LeBron is exciting because of the fact that the forward will help him get open looks on the court. He mentioned that the dynamic scoring on the team will be hard to defend with the versatile players in James, Ball, and himself.

It seems Rondo will have at least one year to prove his value to the team since he signed a one-year, $9 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.