Rajon Rondo is being mentioned again in several NBA trade rumors over the past several weeks and Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge talked about the possible move again.
In an interview with The Telegram, Ainge said that the team is aware of the possibility of losing Rondo via free agency next summer. He said that he is still unsure of what they intend to do, but he quickly added that they are not trying to trade Rondo at this point.
"The truthful answer is I really don't know," Ainge said. "I have no intention. I'm not trying to trade Rondo, but because he's a free agent this summer, he assured me that he wants to stay in Boston. We'd love to keep him in Boston."
Rondo could become an unrestricted free agent next summer, and Ainge confirmed that the superstar guard declined to sign a contract extension this offseason. Should they decide to keep Rondo until after next season's trade deadline, they will run risk of losing him for nothing next summer.
When pressed to answer if they will think of trading Rondo if they see that their chances of keeping him are getting slim, Ainge said that anything is possible in the upcoming season, although he is quite sure that the two sides will eventually reach a common ground.
"The possibility of a trade is not out of the question," Ainge said. ""Nobody is untradeable, but I don't see that happening."
Ainge also played down speculation that they are already preparing life after Rondo when they picked former Oklahoma State University star Marcus Smart in the 2014 NBA Draft. He said that they tried to make big acquisitions earlier in the summer, but they eventually decided that drafting Smart and fellow rookie James Young is the most logical move for them.
"It wasn't the fireworks that we tried, and we continue to try to do, but we're excited about Marcus (Smart) and his future and James Young and his future" Ainge said. "We need to be more patient with James, especially out of the gate. I think Marcus is more physically ready to play at our level than James is today, but we hope for fast progress from James. I felt like we acquired some assets."
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