The New York Knicks are interested in a Rajon Rondo trade this season and they are in the mix with the Lakers, Mavericks and Houston Rockets for the Boston Celtics to get it done and if NY makes a move, it likely means that Iman Shumpert, Amar'e Stoudemire, JR Smith or Andrea Bargnani will be traded and will lead Carmelo Anthony staying after previous reports had him potentially getting moved in a trade.
The Knicks have been terrible this year and they have long coveted Rondo as their point guard of the future and that could be a major move for Phil Jackson as he tries to build a contender. According to Marc Stein at ESPN.com, the Knicks are among a number of teams that have contacted the Celtics about Rondo, with the Mavericks and Rockets also in the mix. The Kings are interested as well, but they are not considered a likely option.
New broke that Rondo was the main target for the Mavericks and Yahoo Sports reported that they are in "serious" talks with the Celtics about a deal. The Mavericks would trade some players along with draft picks to the Celtics for Rondo and reports say that he likely would re-sign if the deal went down. The Rockets also are interested and that comes after the team nearly had a deal for Rondo in place last season. The Knicks are not considered to be one of the frontrunners, but if Jackson wanted to give up enough, he likely would get the deal done. The team is asking for at least a first round pick and more and that could be too much for the Knicks, as they are in a heavy rebuild.
The Knicks are looking to sign major free agents next summer and Rondo is one of them and one reason Jackson may try to make the trade is because if Rondo is moved, he likely will sign now and not become a free agent. Many saw the same issue with Kevin Love and that also happened to the Knicks with Carmelo Anthony, as they felt they had to trade for him or risk losing him to another team.
The Knicks have been terrible to start the season and they have just five wins and while the Celtics are also rebuilding, the Knicks feel that a few moves can make for a speedy turnaround. The team is planning to target Marc Gasol or Greg Monroe next summer and if things fall through with Rondo, they also can look at Goran Dragic as an option on the free agent market.
The Knicks have a number of players that could be intriguing for contenders and the Celtics, as they have Stoudemire and Bargnani on expiring deals. Those contracts can be very valuable for teams, while Iman Shumpert is heading into restricted free agency. The team would love to trade Smith, but that is unlikely since he has an option and is a bit pricey for his role. The Knicks want to make some sort of move, as they are stuck in the bottom of the east right now and the future is not looking bright for Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony as it stands.
