With Carmelo Anthony vowing to enlist heavy recruitment of free agents for the New York Knicks this summer, he’s implied that Sacramento Kings point guard Rajon Rondo will be in his sights. Knicks interim head coach Kurt Rambis recently gave Rondo high praise, giving the Rondo-to-New York possibility more steam.
Rondo has been cited as having doubts about his potential fit in the triangle offense, which Carmelo Anthony combatted by touching on some of the misconceptions of how the triangle operates, saying Rondo would fit “perfect”. Ahead of the Kings matchup against the Knicks on Sunday night, Rondo spoke to the media on this very subject, and seems to have changed his tune.
Via Ryan Lazo of the New York Post:
A little more than a month after saying the triangle “wasn’t a good look for him,” Rondo backtracked from those comments following a Kings practice at Baruch College ahead of the team’s game against the Knicks at the Garden on Sunday night.
“I had a comment earlier about it, but if I put my mind at it, I think I can be good at anything.”
Rondo talked about the prospect of playing at Madison Square Garden and his respect for Carmelo Anthony:
“It’s one of those arenas,” Rondo said. “That’s the biggest lights. It’s Broadway. … Madison Square Garden is the mecca of basketball, so it’s always great going there and perform in front of a lot of fans.”
“We have a lot of respect for each other,” Rondo said of Anthony. “He competes every night and plays extremely hard and I think I do the same.”
There’s a respect and even maybe a reverence towards the triangle from Rondo, noting the success it’s had in the past:
“The Lakers have proven you can have success,” Rondo said. “Even go back to the old Bulls. I think it’s about personnel and it’s about having the right guys. You need guys with a high IQ, who really know the game well to break down film and become great at it.”
Rondo is one of those extreme confidence guys, so for me, he had to have felt this way all along. He’s good for commanding any offense and making it his, sometimes even to a fault (refer to his stint with Dallas last season). While the notions of the triangle don’t necessarily emphasize point guard play, we frankly haven’t seen a point guard such as Rondo at the helm of it. If he wants the opportunity, it looks like it’ll be there for him this summer.
