If you have been following our Laker coverage closely, you will notice that the speculation of who will replace Jared Dudley’s voice has been monitored closely. Dudley retired as a player, and left to Dallas as an assistant coach. He was an integral part of the team the past two seasons, as he was one of the few who would call out players, regardless of their stature on the team.
After last seasons’ first round exit, a lot of the roster has been altered. With 10 new faces on the team, it is an absolute that the team chemistry be fantastic, even though many new faces have previously played with the Lakers at some point in their careers.
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel recently joined the Spectrum SportNet’s ‘Lakeshow’ podcast and discussed Rajon Rondo’s role with the team.
“I don’t know who’s going to pick up the slack Dudz brought to the table. But internally, we’ve got some guys, I think Rondo coming back can be a real positive voice from a guy who’s not going to play as much, but can really impact our team with his leadership.”
Rondo is currently slotted to play behind Russell Westbrook and Kendrick Nunn as the point guards on the squad, so there may not be many minutes for him, especially if both Westbrook and Nunn are fully healthy and able to play.
Over the course of his career, he has not been shy to be vocal and provide a leadership presence. Do not forget he was still a young guard with the Boston Celtics when they had the Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, yet it was reported that Rondo had no qualms calling out guys if he felt they were out of line.
If Rondo indeed embraces this Dudley role as an off the court presence for the team, this should be considered an upgrade, as Rondo is still considered a capable playmaker even at the age of 35.
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