The Lakers have "higher priorities" than Rajon Rondo in free agency

The Lakers have moved away from Rajon Rondo as a primary target in free agency, according to Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. There has been a lot of smoke and rumors about Rondo heading to the Lakers this offseason, but it appears if that is still going to happen, the four-time all-star guard will have to take significantly less than the max to suit up with the purple and gold.

Interestingly, Ding also mentioned "The notion that the Lakers were going to be the ones to sign Rondo to a maximum contract has been put forth and perpetuated mostly by people on his side, not the Lakers'." This basically confirms that many of the rumors regarding Rondo joining the Lakers were a leverage ploy by his representatives rather than a leak in the normally tight lipped Lakers' front office.

Rondo has been ruled out "indefinitely" by the Dallas Mavericks after sustaining a back injury in game 2 of their first round playoff series against Houston. Mavericks Head Coach Rick Carlisle stated to reporters that he does not expect Rondo back in Dallas. Rondo averaged 9.3 points, 6.5 assists, and 4.5 rebounds on 43.6% shooting after being traded to the Mavericks, which should leave him available for significantly less than a maximum contract. We will have to wait and see how much the market and his next team decide he is worth in July.