Carmelo Anthony's honeymoon period with the New York Knicks is long gone.
Thanks to a woeful 7-14 postseason record during his three-year stay in the Big Apple, he expressed a desire for significant upgrades to New York's roster this offseason. Apparently, former No. 1 overall pick, and Toronto Raptors castoff, Andrea Bargnani wasn't the player that Anthony had in mind.
According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, Anthony had his sights set on the defending two-time assists leader:
Anthony told friends after the Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce trade to the Nets, he figured the Knicks would make a play for point guard Rajon Rondo. Anthony believes Rondo would be the perfect piece and would be super motivated in New York to attempt to knock off Garnett and Pierce.
New York's financial situation is a mess. The cash-strapped Knicks have already been priced out of the free-agent pursuits of reserve players like Chris Copeland and Francisco Garcia.With the Boston Celtics' rebuilding project on in full force, outsiders have viewed Rondo as the next likely domino to drop. While that could still hold true, it's unlikely that Anthony's Knicks would be the team to facilitate that move.
Per Berman and the Post, "General Manager Glen Grunwald said last week the team will try to be "creative" and "aggressive" with the roster, but the major core would return."
Those books won't be cleaned up for at least two seasons, meaning New York doesn't have the coveted expiring contracts that Boston would be searching for if it decides that Rondo needs to be moved. The 22-year-old Iman Shumpert is the closest thing the Knicks have to a young prospect, but the Celtics already have their own young, defensive-minded guard in Avery Bradley.
New York can't even sweeten the deal with draft picks, as its 2014 first-round choice is owed to the Denver Nuggets, and its top pick in 2016 belongs to the Raptors.
It's not hard to imagine the reasons behind Anthony's interest in Rondo.
Raymond Felton has never been mistaken for a pass-first point guard. Pablo, 36, was entering the twilight years of his career before he ever stepped foot inside Madison Square Garden. Jason Kidd is now coaching New York's cross-city rivals, the Brooklyn Nets.
Again, what is difficult (impossible?) to picture is New York's trade package that brings Rondo to the Knicks.
If Anthony really wants a secondary scorer to shoulder some of his offensive burden, he has two options. He can either hope thatAmar'e Stoudemire suddenly returns to his pre-injury form, or he can search for that support on the free-agent market next summer.
If Rondo goes anywhere this summer, it won't be to New York.
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