The Los Angeles Lakers will sign Rajon Rondo to a one-year, $2.6 million contract once he clears waivers.

Rondo agreed to a buyout on Saturday and he will make his full $7.5 million salary between his buyout and new deal with the Lakers.

Rondo will fill the Lakers' final available roster spot.

Rondo previously spent two seasons with the Lakers and played a key role in their 2020 title.

The Los Angeles Lakers were "strongly considering" signing Isaiah Thomas until Rajon Rondo became available with his buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Thomas averaged 7.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 16.0 minutes over three games last season with the New Orleans Pelicans. 

Thomas has appeared in just 87 games since the end of the 16-17 season. 

The Memphis Grizzlies and veteran point guard Rajon Rondo have reached agreement on a buyout. Memphis will waive Rondo and he'll become an unrestricted free agent upon clearing waivers.

Upon clearing waivers, the Los Angles Lakers are the frontrunners to sign Rondo. 2021-22 will be Rondo's 16th NBA season. He played a big part in the Lakers winning the 2020 NBA Finals.

The Grizzlies acquired Rondo in a trade where they sent Eric Bledsoe to the LA Clippers for Rondo, Patrick Beverley and Daniel Oturu. Memphis subsequently traded Beverley to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Jarrett Culver and Juancho Hernangomez.

Memphis will still need to waive or trade at least three more players to get into regular season roster compliance.

The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly declined to offer Jared Dudley a position as an assistant coach before he was hired by the Dallas Mavericks for a front-of-the-bench position. Dudley was well liked by the Lakers' players, particularly LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

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"Word is that the Lakers did not offer Dudley a coaching role to stay once they made it clear that they were not holding a roster spot for him," writes Marc Stein of Substack. "The reality, though, is that a behind-the-bench position likely would have been insufficient to keep him in Los Angeles given that the Mavericks promised to install Dudley alongside former Suns head coach Igor Kokoškov and Sean Sweeney (who will be coaching under Kidd for the third time) as one of Kidd's top three aides."

The Dallas Mavericks have hired Jared Dudley as an assistant coach.

Dudley spent the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and they're not expected to bring him back as a player, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports.

Dudley tore his MCL last season.

Dudley has long been considered one of the NBA's best locker room presences with a prospective career in coaching or broadcasting. 

JaKarr Sampson and Tim Frazier are candidates to be signed by the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers are also considering Isaiah Thomas, Darren Collison and Mike James.

Sampson is 28 and spent the past two seasons with the Indiana Pacers.

Frazier appeared in five games last season with the Memphis Grizzlies. 

Marc Gasol signed a two-year, $5.3 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2020 offseason and had a rocky first season with the team. 

The Lakers parted ways with Montrezl Harrell and Andre Drummond this offseason while bringing back Dwight Howard and so far retaining Gasol.

But Gasol's place with the Lakers is uncertain. 

"I’m hearing that Marc Gasol is not a lock to return to the Lakers, even after Gasol said following Spain’s quarterfinal loss to the United States in the Olympics that he intends to play out the final year of the two-year deal he signed with Los Angeles," writes Marc Stein at Substack. "It’s not yet clear if that means Gasol is poised to be set free to play elsewhere in the NBA or if he would ultimately opt to finish his career in his home country like brother Pau."

Despite all of their offseason roster changes, the Los Angeles Lakers are still looking to fill out their roster. LA currently has three open roster spots. Sources indicate that the Lakers would like to fill at least two of the three spots, while leaving one open for an in-season addition.

Recently, Los Angeles worked out a trio of veteran guards including Isaiah Thomas, Darren Collison and Mike James. Thomas played in three games with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2020-21. Darren Collison has not played in the NBA since retiring at the end of the 2018-19 season. James was a late-season addition to the Brooklyn Nets roster in 2020-21.

Thomas reportedly worked out directly with LeBron James and Russell Westbrook. No signing appears imminent as the Lakers continue to evaluate their options moving forward.

The NBA will open their landmark 75th season on Tuesday, October 19. The opening night doubleheader will see the Milwaukee Bucks raise a banner and get their championship rings in front of the home fans:

Brooklyn Nets at Milwaukee Bucks - 7:30 PM ET on TNT

Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers - 10:00 PM ET on TNT

The schedule NBA's annual Christmas Day extravaganza has been set. As per usual, there are five games scheduled on December 25:

Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks - 12:00 PM ET on ESPN

Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Bucks - 2:30 PM ET on ABC

Golden State Warriors at Phoenix Suns - 5:00 PM ET on ABC

Brooklyn Nets at Los Angeles Lakers - 8:00 PM ET on ABC/ESPN

Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz - 10:30 PM ET on ESPN