NBA Rumors: Players the Knicks Have Been Linked To

Rajon Rondo, Sacramento Kings

Position: Point Guard

Age: 29

Salary: $9,500,000 (Expiring)

Slash Line: .456/.353/.500

Season Averages: 35.3 MPG, 11.9 PPG, 11.2 APG, 6.5 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 0.8 3PM

This one is a bit of a stretch, but it’s still worth noting due to the source of the revelation. It doesn’t necessarily signal that a trade is imminent or even possible, but moving forward, it’s something to monitor.

In mid-December of 2015, Carmelo Anthony told Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News that he’s reached out to Rajon Rondo about the possibility of the point guard coming to play for the New York Knicks.

"“I’ve talked to him kind of behind the scenes, kind of doing what I do best. Tried to get him to think about playing in New York,” says Anthony, who attended the same high school as Rondo in Virginia. “There was a time where he wanted to come. It’s out of my hands at that point.” Anthony clarified that, as far as he knows, the window of Rondo’s interest was while he was under contract with the Celtics, not over the summer when the 29-year-old was a free agent."

As New York searches for a fix at point guard, it’s fathomable that Anthony and Rondo could revisit this possibility.

Rondo is playing on a one-year contract with the Sacramento Kings, which means he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2016. It’s then that the Knicks would be most likely to make a run at the nightly triple-double threat.

Given the low-risk nature of an expiring contract, however, it’s entirely possible that New York will weigh its options for a trade.

Rondo is leading the league at 11.2 assists per game—1.4 more than any other player in the NBA. He’s also shooting a career-best 35.3 percent from 3-point range, has returned to caring about defense, and is beginning to be acceptable at the free throw line.

If the Knicks can swing a trade for Anthony’s targeted point guard, then they should seriously consider doing so.

Next: An Intriguing Free Agent