Rondo himself has yet to respond, but his agent Bill Duffy went on Boston's sports radio station and commented on all of the nonsense, which included everything from trade rumors to Ainge hinting that Rondo was at fault for the Celtics' loss to the Magic in the Eastern Conference semi-finals."I am just surprised that Danny is speaking, even if he considers it constructively, in a public setting. I don't think that it's appropriate to say that about one of your top players. Even if it's spoken constructively, I don't think it should be done in public. I don't think he would like it if Wyc [Grousbeck, the organization's managing partner] was talking about him in public ... Last time I checked they won a world championship with him at point guard."
Duffy is absolutely right. If Ainge has any criticisms for Rondo, then there are definitely appropriate times and places to voice that. Doing so in public is never, for any reason, an appropriate way to handle it.
Let's be clear about one thing: Rajon Rondo was the best AND most consistent player in a Celtics uniform during the 2009 Playoffs. He averaged 16.7 points, 9.8 assists and 9.7 rebounds per game in the postseason, and was 4 rebounds and 3 assists short of averaging a triple double for the entire postseason. Not only was he the best player on the Celtics during the playoffs, he was the best point guard in the entire playoffs. In a year that featured Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups, Derrick Rose, Jason Kidd and others, Rajon Rondo outperformed them all.
Does he still have things that he needs to work on? Of course. His shooting is inconsistent, and there were definitely times when he was far too physically aggressive, and could have been ejected several times. But when it all came down to it, he was the one guy who willed them to victory over Chicago, and gave them a chance against the Magic, despite Kevin Garnett's team-crippling injury.Rajon Rondo is more important to this team right now than Danny Ainge, who is (despite the championship) one of the worst GM's in sports. It took 2 first round playoff exits and 2 trips to the lottery just to build a team that had enough trade pieces to convince another incompetent GM (Kevin McHale) to part with one of the best players in the game. Ainge still has no plans for the future, and now appears to be intent on doing whatever he can to close the Celtics' potential championship window as quickly as possible.
The Celtics can compete for a title in 2009-10. After that, the future gets bleaker every year. Trading Rondo (or pissing him off until he demands a trade) is the worst idea ever. Can we just fire Danny, before he gets the Celtics back in the lottery?
Ainge's criticism of Rondo angers agent [ESPN]
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