Danny Ainge: Celtics Have 'No Intention' Of Trading Rajon Rondo
BOSTON (CBS) -- After the Celtics agreed to trade away Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to Brooklyn, it was only a matter of time before rumors of a full-fledged fire sale broke out in Boston.
Such a move would likely lead to the team trading away its only remaining bona fide all-star, point guard Rajon Rondo. And sure enough, rumors that the Celtics were looking to trade Rondo spread over the weekend.
But on Monday, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge did his best to deny any such rumblings.
"Don't believe everything you read, especially on Twitter," Ainge said. "The calls are coming in; the calls have not been going out. We have had calls on Jeff [Green], Courtney [Lee], Brandon [Bass], Rondo and Jared [Sullinger], our draft pick Kelly [Olynyk]. Maybe the assumption is we're changing everyone, but we're not.
"I'll always listen to calls, but we have no intention at moving Rajon."
Ainge did not explicitly rule out the possibility of trading the 27-year-old who is signed for the next two years, which will lead some speculators to continue to believe a deal will happen this offseason. But Ainge did seem to make it clear that trading Rondo is not on his current to-do list.
Rondo missed the final three months of the season after tearing his ACL in January. Ainge said the plan is for Rondo to be ready to play when the season begins.
"That's our objective," Ainge said. "I'm sure training camp will be some maintenance, but opening day is a goal of his and ours. There is no certainty, but we think things are going really well and that's still a good goal to have."
