The New York Knicks have not had the start to 2013 that they wanted after winning the division last year and making it through a playoff round, but after losing once again at home on Christmas Day to the Oklahoma City Thunder, more talk has come up about a possible trade for Rajon Rondo from the Celtics as well as the possibility of Carmelo Anthony bolting to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Knicks are just 9-19 this season, but because of the division and the conference they play in, the team is still in the mix in the east and that is one reason why James Dolan likely is hesitant to blow up the team. Heading into 2014 there are plenty of stories swirling around the Knicks and what is going to happen this season and in the future, as reports have come out involving Carmelo Anthony, Rajon Rondo, Iman Shumpert and Mike Woodson in the past few weeks. The news with Anthony is that it could be possible that without a turnaround this season, the star could opt out of his deal like many have speculated on and that he could potentially sign with the Los Angeles Clippers.
This report came from Hoopsworld and while many though heading into the season the the LA Lakers could be the team that Melo signed with if he opted out, it looks like the Clippers now are more of as realistic option. The Lakers have money tied up in Kobe Bryant and may not be good for a couple years, while Anthony could join a readymade championship caliber team with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. While this deal would have to have a ton happen before it could happen, the way the Knicks season has gone could get this situation to occur.
The Knicks obviously want to keep Melo and one way they think they can pull that off is to make a big trade with the Boston Celtics for point guard Rajon Rondo. According to ESPN.com, the Knicks are hoping that Rondo makes demands similar to what Anthony did back when he was on the Denver Nuggets and that could happen this season or over the summer and that could enable the Knicks to keep Anthony. While all that seems like a bit much to hope for, stranger things have happen and while the Celtics have remained steadfast that they are not going to trade Rondo, which could be what comes before the team decides to trade Rondo.
The report from ESPN.com also says that Dolan told the team that Mike Woodson was safe and so was his coaching staff and that could help bring the team together as they try to pull out from the bottom of the east. The report says that Dolan feels that the team can still win the division once they get healthy and he said that no major trades were going down, meaning that Iman Shumpert is likely safe for the time being and Kyle Lowry will remain on the Toronto Raptors.