Asked if he was optimistic about an upcoming contract negotiation, Rondo replied: "Not really. I'm just playing it out, trying to get better every day."
A league source said the Celtics plan to hold talks with Rondo before the start of training camp later this month. Rondo has one year and an option remaining on his contract.
Ainge said earlier in the offseason that he would conduct talks with Rondo and Ray about contract extensions but this is the first word that we've gotten about those talks actually starting.
At one point Cedric Maxwell reported that Rondo would be willing to sign for 5 years, $50 million. Should be interesting to see how close they come to those numbers.
There was also a Kevin Garnett update.
"Kevin looks good, he's in here working out every day," Ainge said today from the team's practice facility in Waltham. "He's doing his training but he's not playing fullcourt basketball, yet. We're taking it as slow and as cautious as we can with him. He's anxious and he has a ton of energy, but I think he gets it. We don't have bodyguards on him to keep him from working too hard. He's on the program with the staff. We don't have timetables on this. We are going week to week and we'll make a decision on where he is."