Report: Cavaliers in 'serious talks' to acquire Lakers guard Rajon Rondo

A day after the Cleveland Cavaliers announced a torn ACL would end Ricky Rubio's season, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the team is looking to fill its point guard void by trading with the Los Angeles Lakers for Rajon Rondo.

Less than a half hour after Charania's report, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said the Cavaliers are "nearing a trade" to acquire Rondo, a 35-year-old veteran who has played for eight different teams since 2014. He joined the Lakers in 2018 and was with the team for their win in the 2020 NBA Finals before leaving to join the Atlanta Hawks later that year. Rondo was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Clippers and again to the Memphis Grizzlies, but agreed to a buyout and joined the Lakers again in August as a free agent.

Rondo has contributed from the bench so far in the 2021-22 season with an average of 16.1 minutes, 3.1 points and 3.7 assists per game. 

The Cavaliers sit fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 20-14 record heading into a Thursday night matchup against the Washington Wizards. Earlier in the year, Cleveland lost another guard, Collin Sexton, to a meniscus tear that required surgery to repair.