The Los Angeles Lakers have completed a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers in a swapping of the guards.
Getty The Lakers are trading Rajon Rondo to clear up a roster spot. The Los Angeles Lakers are officially trading one of their veterans. As Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on Friday, December 31, the Lakers are sending Rajon Rondo to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Denzel Valentine. The move is not made with the intention of retaining Valentine on the roster; the Lakers are expected the waive the 28-year-old guard in order to clear up a roster spot. “ESPN Sources: The Cavaliers have agreed to trade Denzel Valentine to the Lakers to acquire Rajon Rondo,” says Wojnarowski. “The Lakers are expected to waive Valentine’s partially-guaranteed deal and create an open roster spot.” By trading Rondo and waiving Valentine — instead of Rondo — the Lakers are saving millions of dollars in the process. Waiving Rondo would have resulted in $7 million in dead money in the luxury tax. Waiving the partially-guaranteed contract of Valentine (just $500,000 guaranteed of just over $1.9 million) results in roughly $3.7 million in dead money, according to HoopHype’s Yossi Gozlan.
