According to a report by Sports Illustrated, NBA league executives believe the Los Angeles Lakers will make a strong push to acquire Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo next summer.

Rondo's contract is expiring this year and will becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the  NBA season. That means Rondo will be "wined and dined" by multiple teams around the league in an effort to entice the all-star point-guard into leaving Boston and sign a new contract with a new team. 

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With salaries of players like Steve Nash and Jeremy Lin coming off the books for Los Angeles next summer, the Lakers will have plenty of cap flexibility to entice Rondo with a max contract. Celtics have a plethora of guards including top rookie prospect Marcus Smart, so it's unlikely Boston's front office will be willing to match a max contract offer.

The goal would be for the Lakers' front office to surround Kobe Bryant with talent in his last contract year for next season and make another run for a championship. Even if the Lakers were able to entice Rondo with a max contract, they'd still have enough cap space to be able to sign another key player available in the free agency.

Players like Greg Monroe, Kawhi Leonard, Reggie Jackson and Marc Gasol could be available in the free agency next summer. A core of Rondo, Bryant, Monroe and rookie prospect Julius Randle could certainly make a run for the playoffs.

Lakers are struggling to win any games so far this season (with a 1-5 record) and doesn't seem like they're going to improve much, but that could actually help the franchise if it receives another low lottery pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and adds another rookie prospect to the lineup.

Rondo is considered around the league to be the best facilitator in the NBA, as evident again this season averaging 11.2 assists per game. He would absolutely be a game changer for the Lakers running pick-and-roll plays with a potential Randle-Monroe frontcourt and consistently giving Byrant - who's still one of the best scorers in the NBA - wide open looks to the basket.    

In the end, it's going to come down to whether Rondo wants to be the face of the Celtics franchise and continue to build chemistry with a young core, or whether he wants a max contract and hopes of contending for a title. 

TagsLos Angeles Lakers, Rajon Rondo, Free Agency, NBA rumors, Sports Illustrated