With Rajon Rondo Likely Moving Again, Should Sixers Consider?

Rajon Rondo has been playing some sort of game resembling musical chairs over the past year. After having a two-year stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, Rondo inked a multi-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks last offseason.

As the Hawks got off to an underwhelming start to the 2020-2021 NBA season, they moved the veteran point guard to the Los Angeles Clippers at the trade deadline in exchange for Lou Williams.

With the Clippers, Rondo appeared in 18 games. Averaging 20 minutes on the floor, the veteran guard put up 7.6 points per game and collected 5.8 assists per game. In the playoffs, he averaged four fewer minutes and put up 4.2 points per game.

As Rondo remained on the Clippers throughout the NBA Draft and the start of free agency this offseason, it seemed there might be a chance he remains in Los Angeles for the start of the 2021-2022 season.

However, the Clippers struck a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies last weekend, which sent both Rondo and Patrick Beverly packing. At this point, Beverly has already been re-routed to the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Will the Grizzlies hold onto the other veteran trade acquisition? There is a growing belief around Memphis that Rondo could also very much be on the move. According to Drew Hill of the Daily Memphian, Rondo will "probably not" start the season with the Grizzlies in October.

With that news, Rondo will more than likely get shopped around the league to teams that need a veteran backup ball-handler. Any team that wants to trade for him would have to take on $8 million in salary for the 35-year-old guard. Will teams be willing to do that? 

Again. . . Probably not. Sam Quinn of CBS Sports speculates that a buyout is coming. So, soon enough, Rondo could be joining a contender ahead of the 2021-2022 season if the buyout comes sooner than later. 

Would the Sixers get involved? On one hand, it seems like a possibility. For starters, Rondo is a Doc Rivers guy. As the Sixers' head coach once coached the veteran guard during his Boston Celtics days, they have familiarity with each other. Plus, Rivers mentioned Rondo's name on many occasions last season, comparing him to Philly's starting point guard, Ben Simmons. 

Also, the Sixers did just get rid of their veteran backup point guard George Hill after that experiment failed. On the other hand, though, the Sixers have a young stud in Tyrese Maxey. It's unclear what the Sixers will do with the starting point guard position next year, but Maxey could almost certainly be the backup point guard.

While this young Sixers team could always use additional veteran players with postseason success, Rondo is no longer at the stage of his career where he should be running the point in a starting lineup. And if the Sixers took him on, he would take away minutes from the promising second-year guard Tyrese Maxey. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.