Marc Stein throws the Knicks into the Rajon Rondo rumors

The monthly "no seriously the Celtics are gonna trade Rajon Rondo this time" rumors are sizzling again, with the Mavericks now appearing the strongest contender to make a deal for Rondo. But, for our purposes, here's Marc Stein pass along that the Knicks have made that call as well:

Celtics ARE talking to other teams -- most notably Knicks and Kings -- but sources say most serious Rondo talks to date are with Mavericks

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) December 18, 2014

This is the full story. I dunno. Everybody calls everybody, and this smells like someone leaking the Knicks' involvement to build leverage for someone else, because that's what the Knicks are here for.

I think this is a thing to ignore, but while it's out there, here is just about the only way New York could balance a deal for Rondo:

Boom. It's like it was made to happen. Get 'er done.

Update:

Lakers and Knicks declined to be part of three-way deals that could've sent Rondo elsewhere, league sources tell Yahoo.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) December 18, 2014