LeBron James will take LA Lakers to NBA Finals WITHOUT Kawhi Leonard - Rajon Rondo
LAKERS NEWS - LeBron James can take the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA Finals even without Kawhi Leonard.
Kawhi Leonard has been vocal about joining Lakers says expert
That is the opinion of Rajon Rondo.
The veteran point guard followed James in joining the Lakers. The four-time NBA All-Star signs a one-year $9million deal after leaving the New Orleans Pelicans.
Rondo brings added experience to a roster built around young talent and now headlined by four-time MVP James, who chose to join the Lakers after opting out of the final year of his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Lakers have been hoping to add extra superstar talent alongside the 33-year-old as they look to challenge the Golden State Warriors’ dominance of the NBA. The Western Conference champions have snapped up three of the last four championships - beating James’ Cavs in the Finals in each of those years.
But a trade deal to bring in Kawhi Leonard from San Antonio this summer is proving difficult with the Spurs unwavering in their stance that they want multiple top assets in order to let Leonard go now despite the power forward's desire to leave the organisation.
You put any group of players around LeBron James, as he has done [eight] straight times, he went to the Finals.
The two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year can enter free agency this time next summer, where the Lakers would be the strong favourites to sign him - although waiting a year risks wasting a year of James' talents without realistic hope of overcoming the Warriors.
Yet Rondo says that, even if a deal cannot be reached to bring in Leonard this year, much is still expected of the Lakers because of James' pedigree and he believes they are capable of living up to expectation.
‘’We’re expected to win. You put any group of players around LeBron James, as he has done [eight] straight times, he went to the Finals,'' Rondo said.
''So my expectations are the exact same thing. Even with the Warriors adding [DeMarcus Cousins] and the Rockets being who they are, I think we fit right up there in the mix.
“It is early, obviously, and I'm not promising anything, but at the end of the day, I expect to win. Nothing else.
“I definitely believe in the vision that Magic [Johnson] and Rob [Pelinka] have put this team together with.
“You won’t beat the Warriors with shooting, they have probably the three best to ever do it.
“You can’t go about it that way. He has a different approach and I love the approach and I think we’re a part of that approach.
“I’m hungry to win. I’m sick of seeing the same teams win a championship and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
The Lakers have recruited JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope alongside James and Rondo ahead of a major line-up and style change in 2018-19.