In just under two weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers will wrap up what is probably the worst season in the storied history of the franchise. And if they keep winning games between now and then, they will stand a real chance at losing out on their first-round pick in this year's draft (the pick is top-five protected, but some lottery luck by a better team could push the Lakers out of the top five).
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The team will get some help in the form of health for next season, when Kobe Bryant and 2014 first-rounder Julius Randle should both be back with the team. But the Lakers also want to be players in the free agent market, and they will have the money to add at least one star. The team has repeatedly talked about pursuing Rajon Rondo because of their deep desire to feature a star point guard. But if Rondo decides to re-sign with Dallas or goes somewhere else, they may end up going after Goran Dragic, according to the Sporting News.
Rondo and Dragic will be the best point guards available this summer, and the Lakers are determined to come away with one of them. Kobe has been hard at work recruiting Rondo since before he was traded from Boston to Dallas, and it looks like Los Angeles will be the favorite to land him this summer.
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But things change all the time with free agency, and the team will undoubtedly also pursue Dragic in order to cover their bases. Although he does not have the reputation that Rondo does, Dragic may even be the better. He is unquestionably a better shooter than Rondo, and he also has excellent ball-handling and passing skills. Rondo has a bit more size and is a stronger defender and rebounder, however.
The risk with Dragic is that he may elect to sign an extension with Miami instead of hitting the open market. He has reportedly been very happy since being traded to the Heat, and he may elect to stay with the team. Another advantage to staying in Miami is that the Heat play in the much weaker Eastern Conference, making the road to the playoffs much easier to navigate.
Still, when the Lakers call, players listen, and Dragic will likely at least hear the team out. The really interesting scenario will be if Dragic and Rondo want to join the Lakers. The team is unlikely to have the salary cap space to sign both, but if two highly skilled point guards want to head west, the team may be able to pull of some cap gymnastics to fit them. The Phoenix Suns ran an incredibly efficient offense before Dragic was traded, and it saw him spend most of his time playing next to another highly skilled point guard.
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