Knicks Rumors: Rajon Rondo Reportedly in Contact with NY, No Meeting Set

The New York Knicks have reportedly "reached out" to free-agent point guard Rajon Rondo, though "no meeting has been arranged as of yet," according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday. 

He has also been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers, per Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times and Sam Amick of USA Today.

Rondo, 31, averaged 7.8 points, 6.7 assists and 5.1 rebounds in 69 games for the Chicago Bulls in 2016-17.

While the Bulls faced plenty of controversy during the season—which included Rondo's sniping at Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler after the duo questioned the dedication of their teammates—Rondo was fantastic in two postseason games, averaging 11.5 points, 10.0 assists and 8.5 rebounds as the Bulls took a 2-0 lead on the Boston Celtics in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

He broke his thumb in Game 2 and missed the final four contests of the series, however, with the Celtics winning in six games.

The Knicks, meanwhile, appear keen to improve their backcourt this offseason to complement first-round pick Frank Ntilikina.

Ian Begley of ESPN.com reported the team has shown interest in free-agent guard Shelvin Mack and could retain Derrick Rose, though there "doesn't seem to be a consensus among decision-makers in the organization" regarding Rose.

In Rondo, the Knicks would get a starting point guard and solid mentor for Ntilikina, with Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports reporting Rondo was loved by his younger teammates in Chicago, and Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders adding that Rondo "did really well with the young guys in Chicago."

With Marc Berman of the New York Post reporting Wednesday that acting president Steve Mills is ready to undergo a "youth movement"—which could easily be read as a euphemism for the team's tanking in 2017-18 to secure a high pick in next year's draft—adding a player like Rondo to mentor one of the team's young building blocks in Ntilikina would make plenty of sense.