The New York Knicks aren’t exactly stockpiled with tradeable assets, meaning any deal between them and the Boston Celtics in exchange for point guard Rajon Rondo seems unlikely.
It’s a scenario that the Knicks’ front office seems well aware of which has them hoping Rondo will force the Celtics to trade him, this according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst:
"According to league sources, the Knicks’ first prong is to try to attract the Celtics’ Rajon Rondo. This idea has been tossed around in various forms for a while now, it’s not shocking. But the way the Knicks are hoping to get Rondo is a little unusual.It’s not in free agency in 2015 but later this season or next summer when he comes back from a torn ACL. The Knicks are hoping Rondo will be interested in making a maneuver similar to what Anthony did back in 2011 and eventually try to force a trade to the Knicks, sources said."
The suggestions seems a bit over the top, but Windhorst is plugged into the league and it’s possible the Knicks – headed by James Dolan – might actually believe something like this could happen.
Boston has made no secrets about their desire to keep Rondo, so combined with the Knicks lack of assets, it seems like a pretty difficult pairing – forcing a trade or not. Even if Rondo did request to be traded, you’d think Boston would be able to find a better deal than what New York could provide.