Carmelo Anthony Says Rajon Rondo Would Be ‘Perfect’ For the Triangle Offense THAT’S FALSE!
By William Lee
Carmelo Anthony wants to make a pitch to Rajon Rondo to come to the New York Knicks… please no…
The 2015-2016 season for the New York Knicks is all but over. A once .500 team seems oh so long ago… with the Knicks losing 16 of their last 20 games. It is time for New York as an organization to look ahead.
That is exactly what superstar Carmelo Anthony is doing, looking ahead. According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, Melo is planning to be heavily involved with the upcoming off-season moves. Including pitching to potential free agents.
"“Put me at the head of the (meeting) table,”“And let’s go to work.”"
Starting with Rajon Rondo.
"“I think Rondo — just me personally, I don’t want to be tampering — but I’ve heard he said he wouldn’t thrive in a system like this,”“I think he’d be perfect in a system like this.”"
That is correct Mr. Anthony, Rondo did say that he would not thrive in the triangle offense, as per Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.
"“The triangle’s not really a good look for me, I don’t think,”“The biggest thing for me is the style of play,”“I wouldn’t want to go to a system where I don’t really have the ball in my hands and they have you stand in the corner and shoot 3s. That’s not my style of play. … The style of play is the biggest thing, and then obviously personnel on the court and coaches.”"
Although, Anthony refute that theory, saying that Rondo’s style is exactly what the triangle offense needs.
"“It is a misconception about that. Some of the keys of our offense is penetration, getting in the paint,”“Pushing the pace, transition. Creating in the paint for bigs, for yourself, everybody else. I think a point guard would love that. Especially a point guard who can penetrate, create for yourself, create for others. I think it’s a perfect opportunity for him.”"
Now it is true that Rondo does excel at getting into the paint, ranking in as the ninth highest drives per game by an individual player in the Association, as per NBA.com. But despite averaging 9.8 drives per game, Rondo only averages 4.5 points per game off those drives. That is 29th in the league. Don’t get me wrong, that sounds great… especially considering the fact that New York as a team are a league’s worst 10.5 points per game off drives… per NBA.com.
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Rondo does not score much off his drives because he is not looking to. Yes, it is true that he is always looking to set up a teammate for a score but another reason is because Rondo is a terrible free-throw shooter. He does not want to aggressively take it to the rim, only to get fouled and be sent to the charity-stripe. Where he is currently averaging 56.7% from the line… For someone that drives so much, Rondo only averages 2.2 free-throw attempts per game… and their is a direct correlation between his percentage and the number of free-throw attempts per game.
Also another reason why I disagree with Anthony that Rondo would be a good fit in the triangle offense, is because (point) guards in the triangle offense need to be able to shoot three-pointers. We all know that Phil Jackson had Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, but he also had John Paxson, B.J. Armstrong, Steve Kerr, Ron Harper, recently fired Knicks head coach Derek Fisher, and current Knick zombie Sasha Vujacic. All capable three-point shooters. Something that Rondo is not… shooting a career 28.2% from beyond the arc.
Another reason I am against bringing in Rondo to New York, and this maybe the biggest red flag of all, is the fact that he is a terrible malcontent… Last season with the Dallas Mavericks, Rondo openingly had a shouting match with head coach Rick Carlisle after being traded from the Boston Celtics mid-season. Then Rondo FLAT-OUT gave up and showed no effort during THE PLAYOFFS!
The Mavericks afterwards decided to not use him the rest of the series… That is just bad… for a team to rather be down a talented player than to actually use that player… there is something wrong… There is no way I want such a selfish player on the Knicks!
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Yes, I know that Rondo is having a resurgence with the Sacramento Kings this season, averaging 11.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and a league-best 12 assists per game BUT COMMON! It’s the Kings! Sacramento is outside of the Playoffs picture at .400, and you can even suggest Rondo should have even better stats! Kings’ players stats are completely inflated, they play at the highest pace in the league and are literally the worst in defense…
So I end with this, of all the possible moves the Knicks can make this summer. Please… no to Rajon Rondo.
Next: Tony Wroten Adds Upside to New York Knicks Roster
NO! NO! NO!