Carmelo Anthony, Rajon Rondo deny recruiting each other
Last week, a report surfaced that New York Knicks’ forward Carmelo Anthony was doing a little bit of recruiting on the Knicks’ behalf. The target? Current Boston Celtics’ point guard Rajon Rondo.
Anthony is in the midst of a disaster of a season with the Knicks while Rondo hasn’t played in a game yet this season thanks to a partially torn ACL he suffered last season.
“No, I think he should be fine,” Rondo’s high school coach Steve Smith told Jason Jordan of the USA Today. “He took a long time off and he’s rehabbed the right way. Whether he stays in Boston or not who knows. I know, talking to Melo (Carmelo Anthony), he’s recruiting Rajon to come to New York. Melo thinks he’ll come too. You never know about that stuff though. I think either way, Rajon will be fine.”
According to both Rondo and Anthony, that just isn’t true.
“C’mon, man. In my book, that’s tampering,” Anthony told Ian Begley and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com.
“I haven’t spoken to him,” Rondo told Baxter Holmes of Boston.com. “He ain’t contacted me. It’s just rumors.”
Of course, denying is just what you would expect each player to do.