Celtics official: No truth to Rondo report
A source within the Boston Celtics organization insisted that contrary to reports, the team is not looking to trade point guard Rajon Rondo.
"Can he be frustrating at times? Absolutely. But no one is ready to give up on him," the source said.
"Whoever put the Rondo rumors out there obviously works for someone other than the Celtics."
The source added that the Celtics "are not looking to gut the team" following a 60-win season, which ended in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Orlando Magic.
The Rondo rumors originated in a story on Hoopsworld.com, which reported that the Celtics may be shopping veteran guard Ray Allen, and would be willing to include Rondo in a possible deal. A few other NBA sources contacted by PBN have said the report was in line with things they had been hearing.
Hoopsworld linked to a story on ESPN that quoted Celtics GM Danny Ainge.
"(Rondo is) stubborn," Ainge told ESPN. "He doesn't always take direction well. He's very bright and he knows what he needs to do to be successful. But sometimes he doesn't understand what the team needs to be successful."
The source questioned the use of Ainge's quote in the Hoopsworld report, saying, "That story was posted a long time ago (April 23). How is that relevant to what's going on with the Celtics today?"
When told Ainge's quote may shed some light on whether or not the team is willing to deal Rondo, the source simply replied, "I don't think so. That's a real reach."
The source said that the Celtics may have had some "very minor" conversations about Allen, "but he's not likely going anywhere, either."
He concluded, "My guess is some other team talked to (the Celtics), mentioned Ray in passing, and then the other team took it to people throughout the league who accepted it as gospel. That's how these things get started, and now Danny is going to have to get out there and refute all this stuff that he really had nothing to do with.
"Does the team need some tweaking? Most definitely. But there is no panic around here, and trading Rajon and Ray would be a panic move. That's why it's so absurd."
Sam Amico is the editor of Pro Basketball News. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.