The NBA trade rumor mill is starting to spin big time and one of the top names getting mentioned is New York Knicks star Iman Shumpert and one possible deal is to the Boston Celtics for Rajon Rondo that would involve Amar'e Stoudemire and reports also say that the Sacramento Kings could be involved as well.
According to ESPN.com, the Knicks have continued to shop around Shumpert, the team's best young player and one deal that was propped to the Celtics was for star point guard Rajon Rondo and it would have also included Amar'e Stoudemire and Raymond Felton, who was previously dealt in the Carmelo Anthony trade. The report says that the Celtics were not interested and that the Knicks have looked into deals multiple times with the Celtics, who would rather trade someone like Gerald Wallace rather than Rondo. Many have felt that the Celtics will try to deal Rondo after trading away Kevin Garnett and Paul Peirce, but so far the team has not moved in that direction.
The report says that the Celtics would possibly deal Wallace and Courtney Lee for Stoudemire to help get rid of some longer and expensive contracts and the Knicks have a ton of money on the books as well. Rondo has not played since getting ACL surgery last season and he could stay out for a while, but any trade would be the future anyway. Making matters tough for the Knicks is the fact that Shumpert had knee surgery this summer according to sources. Shumpert previously had some knee issues and the Knicks have looked at trading him after getting off to a very tough start and now they have lost yet another game at home.
The report says that the surgery on Shumpert was nothing major and this comes after he previously had ACL surgery the year before and that could be one reas0no why the Knicks are shopping him. The team reportedly was close to a deal with the Nuggets for young star Kenneth Faried, which would have helped shore up the front line after Tyson Chandler was injured. Shumpert had knee surgery after playing one game in the summer league and around that time James Dolan was thinking about a trade for Shumpert, as he wanted him to play more over the summer and now the Knicks are moving on from that Denver deal, as the price ended up being too high.
Any deal for Shumpert likely would be for a big man type and the Kings have expressed interest in dealing for him, although they most likely would want to try and deal Jimmer Fredette. The Knicks are just 3-6 this season and have a number of players at the guard position and now they could look into other teams for a deal. The Knicks have moved too many draft picks over the years and now they don't have too many to work with looking ahead and that could make a deal difficult for the team top pull off, but they likely should hold onto Shumpert as well, as he is the best young talent they have right now and their best trade chip.
