The New York Knicks will enter the 2014-15 NBA season with almost the same roster they had from last season. However, there's something in the air that Knicks should be excited about. With the Zen Master in town, the Knicks are expected to make blockbuster moves that would change the landscape in the NBA.
Phil Jackson's era has officially arrived in Big Apple. Over the last three decades, Jackson has nurtured a championship tradition with the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers, with both teams garnering a total of 11 NBA titles under his helm.
Since his hiring as Knicks' chief for basketball operations, Jackson stressed that he wanted the Knickerbockers to develop that winning identity after years of disappointments.
This offseason, Jackson began to make his moves by trading Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin and two second-round picks (Cleanthony Early and Thanasis Antetokounmpo).
Jackson insisted the trade was done to give the Knicks personnel who will fit well with his triangle system, and he believes Calderon's ability to knock down long bombs makes him the ideal playmaker.
"Calderon is a much better fit than Felton in the Triangle offense," a veteran NBA scout told SheridanHoops. "He's great for the floor spacing and can catch and shoot."
In order to implement his philosophy on the sidelines, the 69-year old Jackson took the chance of hiring one of his best students in Derek Fisher, who won five championships with the Zen Master.
However, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops thinks the Knicks aren't done yet. In fact, they are just starting to surround Carmelo Anthony, whom Jackson successfully re-signed this offseason, with talents needed to win a title.
This season, the Knicks' most valuable assets are not on the floor but on paper. The contracts of Andrea Bargnani and Amar'e Stoudemire are drawing interest from teams looking for some salary relief.
According to Scotto, there's a strong possibility the Knicks will push hard to add another star before February's trade deadline. And as expected, they are going to use Bargnani and Stoudemire's hefty expiring deals to pull off the deal. The Knicks trade target? Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics.
"The Boston Celtics are rebuilding and need to make a decision on Rajon Rondo, who is coincidentally a free agent target for the Knicks this upcoming summer," according to Scotto.
"The cap space that the expiring contracts of Bargnani and Stoudemire will provide could allow for the signing of Rondo next summer. If the Knicks can lock Rondo up now in a trade before he hits the open market, and without giving away quality assets, it's a move they'd surely consider."
Despite Danny Ainge's belief that they can keep Rajon Rondo in next summer's free-agency, more and more basketball pundits are now starting to believe that Rondo will be shopped by trade deadline.
Aside from giving the Celtics more flexibility in the future, the Knicks can easily sweeten the offer for Rondo by adding a promising youngster like Iman Shumpert or Tim Hardaway Jr. to the package.
With so many elite free-agents hitting the market next offseason, a ton of trade rumors will be floating around over the next three months. Surely, one of them will be Rondo to Knicks pitch.
