Rajon Rondo reportedly told the Boston Celtics he wanted out, although that is something Rondo himself, his agent and the team all denied ever happened. When asked with the cameras and microphones on Rondo always talked about a commitment to Boston. You can believe what you want, but the prevailing wisdom around the league was that Rondo was not happy and not looking to be part of a long-term rebuilding project, that he was gone at season’s end as a free agent.
Now former teammate Kendrick Perkins just came right and said it — Rondo wanted out of Boston.
That’s what Perkins told Mark Spears of Yahoo Sports. If he did want out he got his wish with a trade to a contender in Dallas.
“He wanted out, but he would never say that though,” Perkins told Yahoo Sports….
“Going to nice weather, a contender,” Perkins said. “Hopefully, he will do what he got to do in terms of his contract extension. It’s a great opportunity. I’m happy for him. I’m not happy he is in the West, but I’m happy for him. His time was probably up in Boston. He did his due.
“He was cool, happy. He was excited. He’s going to a contender. He’s 29 [years old] so rebuilding is out of the question now.”
We should add for the record that Perkins and Rondo are still good friends after their five years together as Celtics. Rondo was the last member of the 2008 title Celtics still wearing green.
This is all kind of moot now, whether he wanted a trade or not. Danny Ainge had to move him because he was likely gone this summer and, while he could have waited it out to see if a better offer came in, that was not likely. Teams were not offering much (the Knicks and Lakers don’t have much to offer). So he took the best deal he could.
Now we will see how much of the 2008 Rondo is still in there after some surgeries.