Celtics GM Danny Ainge revealed earlier this week that the team offered Rajon Rondo a contract extension roughly a month ago, one which the All-Star point guard politely declined.
Ainge wasn’t surprised that the offer was turned down, and in fact he seemed to expect it.
From CBS Boston (via SB Nation):
Before Boston lost to a Thunder team playing without Kevin Durant on Friday, Rondo said that despite his refusal to sign an extension at this time, he wouldn’t mind finishing out his career with the Celtics.
From Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe:“I like to stick to the script,” Rondo said before the Celtics played the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday night at TD Garden. “I don’t like change much. I wouldn’t mind staying here the rest of my career.
“Things don’t always seem to go that way, but like I said before, it’s just a business. I wouldn’t mind extending another 10 years in Boston.”
It’ll largely be up to the Celtics whether or not Rondo stays that long if he feels this way, considering the team will have the ability to offer him an extra year on a max contract if that’s the direction they wish to pursue.
Boston offering Rondo the extension along with his subsequent comments are just two more reasons to be skeptical that the Celtics are interested in trading Rondo as part of their rebuilding process.
Teams need stars to anchor the beginnings of any winning tradition, and Boston already has a known quantity in Rondo who wants to be there, and one who’s been a part of a championship in the city in the not-too-distant past.