Rajon Rondo Being Recruited By Carmelo Anthony To Join New York Knicks

Rajon Rondo won’t be back on a basketball court anytime soon, but when the injured star finally does lace up his sneakers again it could be for a different team.

A rumor originating with the former coach at the high school that both Carmelo Anthony and Rondo attended says that the New York Knicks star is recruiting Rondo to leave the Boston Celtics for the Big Apple.

The coach, Steve Smith, told USA Today that Anthony has been working hard to recruit the star point guard.

“Whether he stays in Boston or not who knows. I know, talking to Melo (Carmelo Anthony), he’s recruiting Rajon to come to New York. Melo thinks he’ll come too,” Smith said. “You never know about that stuff though. I think either way, Rajon will be fine.”

Rajon Rondo said he knew nothing of the plan.

“Well, (Smith) must know something that I don’t know,” Rondo said.

Meanwhile, Rajon Rondo is working steadily on his rehab for a torn ACL that he suffered last season. He is scheduled to meet sometime within the next two weeks with Dr. James Andrews, who performed surgery on Rondo’s right knee last year.

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said the trip doesn’t mean anything bad for Rondo’s rehab.

“It has nothing to do with Rondo’s health and it’s not like a final straw or anything,” Ainge said on Wednesday. “It’s just a checkup that they’ve scheduled for the beginning of December. It’s been on the calendar for a while.”

Rajon Rondo will also meet with team doctor Brian McKeon, who will work with Andrews to evaluate the next step in his rehab process. Rondo still needs to be cleared to participate in full-contact practice, a step yet to happen.

“He’s playing one-on-one and two-on-two, that type of thing, but he hasn’t been cleared to do much more than that,” Ainge said.

It will likely be several more weeks before Rajon Rondo can return to the Celtics — if he does indeed return to Boston.