From day one, the Lakers brain trust of Rob Pelinka and Magic Johnson have openly stated that they brought Rajon Rondo in to be a leader for this young core (they pursued him last summer as well), and more specifically for Lonzo Ball.
During Rondo’s time in Chicago and more recently with the New Orleans Pelicans, Rajon was heralded for his relentless tutelage and support for the younger players. One of the ways he earned that acclaim was through acts like this Instagram post, which came in the midst of Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade trying to pin the Bulls’ failures on the young guys:
Since Rondo’s arrival in LA, we’ve overtly heard of how he intentionally plays on the opposite team from LeBron in scrimmages so both teams have a veteran voice and leadership, with a burning desire to win in any team drill or scrimmage — like in the first 15 seconds of this clip on Backstage Lakers:
It might seem like nothing but even the verbiage “my guy” gives insight into his collectivist mindset.