Rajon Rondo will be a hot trade commodity this week: “The New York Knicks are among the many teams pursuing the 27-year-old, and the fact Rondo missed nearly a year because of his ACL tear before returning in mid-January is apparently a non-factor for so many interested executives. According to a person with knowledge of the situation, the Knicks, Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings are among the “four or five teams” that have been pushing hardest for Rondo in recent days. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the talks. A deal involving Rondo seems highly unlikely at this point, as Ainge is looking for multiple first round draft picks in addition to a young prospect and no team – to this point – is offering every item on his wish list. But Ainge has always stopped short of sticking the ‘untouchable’ tag on any of his players, and thus the slim hope remains for his rivals that they can convince him before time runs out. Rondo has this season and next on his contract for a combined $25 million.”
Jarrett Jack is another point guard that could be on the move: “Jarrett Jack hears the same things everyone else does. Two days before the NBA’s trade deadline, there were rumors that the Cavaliers guard is headed to Brooklyn in exchange for Jason Terry, or to Sacramento for any number of players. Jack doesn’t know what’s true and what’s not. And he’s not worrying about it. “I can’t worry about it unless I find out there’s some legitimacy to it,” he said. Meanwhile, he hopes that the rumors are false. Although Jack’s start in Cleveland hasn’t been what he’s expected – he’s averaging 8.5 points on 39.7 percent shooting – he’s happy where he is. “It’s good to be wanted and coveted,” Jack said, “but I didn’t come here to want to leave in four months. I came here to try to help build something, and I want to keep that going for as long as I can.””
Spurs point guard Tony Parker could be out for the foreseeable future: “Popovich told ESPN that Parker has a “variety of maladies.” Parker missed two of the Spurs’ previous four games leading up to the All-Star break because of a hand injury. Parker has averaged 17.7 points and 6.2 assists per game this season. “He doesn’t have a pulled hamstring or anything, but he’s got a lot of little things,” Popovich said. “Basically a lot of basketball the last three years, all season long, all summer long. It’s caught up to him.” Parker said he agreed with the decision. “The main thing with Pop, he doesn’t want me to play 50 percent, 60 percent,” Parker said. “That’s the main thing. He wants me to get all of my little stuff healed. So however much time it takes, next time I come back on the court he wants me to be 100 percent. Against Charlotte, against Detroit, I was not myself. He just doesn’t want me to play like that.””
The New York Knicks will keep Carmelo Anthony in the loop this week: “It’s a tremendous amount of power to give to a player who has won them only one playoff series since he came to New York in 2010-11, but the Knicks will want Anthony’s stamp of approval. Fully committed to re-signing him in July, they won’t do anything that their star forward would object to on the trade front, not with his free agency just five months away. “I’m pretty sure they would bring it to me and keep me up to date about what’s going on,” he said before the Knicks played Memphis on Tuesday night. “I’m pretty sure they’ll keep me informed about what’s about to happen or what’s going to happen. But as far as making decisions and things like that, that’s their job.””
LeBron James says he cannot imagine leaving Miami….right now: “Of course, James likely would have said the same thing in February of 2010, before he left the Cavaliers on national television, forming the Big 3 in Miami and setting off a firestorm of controversy. So it’s going to depend on how this season shakes out, whether the Heat can win a third title, how Dwyane Wade is feeling physically, how much he wants to re-sign for, and what the Heat can do. There’s also the matter of Chris Bosh who could also opt out and might decide to pursue the max money he declined to get the Heat room to build a contender. He’s left himself outs with this quote, which is what he does. But it should also stand as an indication of where the market is for him. The Lakers were expected to be in contention, and still are technically, but they gave a massive extension to Kobe Bryant and are a mess otherwise. The Cavaliers were expected to have a chance of getting him back, but they’ve thrown in with Luol Deng which seemed on the surface at least to be an admission King James isn’t returning. (Deng is an expiring contract so technically they’ll have cap room.)”
“At this point, I can’t,” James said. “At this point, I can’t. We don’t know what can happen from now to July, so what I’ve been able to do this whole season to this point is just worry about what’s at hand and that’s winning another championship. And hopefully at the end of this year I can put myself in a position where I can hold that Larry O’Brien Trophy up once again and then I will assess what I have to do with my future after that.”
If the Lakers try to position themselves for Love in 2015, they will likely Stink in next season (won’t make Kobe happy).