In Mark Murphy's piece for the Boston Herald, Danny Ainge said this afternoon:
I anticipate (Rondo) being here for a long time.
He goes on further to say:
These rumors have never stopped, but I haven't made a call mentioning Rondo's name since last summer. That was during all of the Chris Paul stuff.
Now, this time of year you're going to get a lot of calls from other teams. But that's just normal. I don't anticipate anything happening.
Despite the dust ups between Doc and Rondo, Doc has gone on record calling Rondo "the smartest player (he's) ever coached. His basketball IQ is off the charts." That sentiment has been repeated by a lot of Celtics from Brian Scalabrine to Kevin Garnett. Jackie MacMullen reports that Doc's relationship with Rondo has never been better. Doc said:
Our communication has never been better. I want him here. I can say with almost 100 percent certainty he will be here with us when the season ends. I'm tired of this stuff. It's not fair.
Hopefully, this douses any trade fires out there to get rid of Rondo. MacMullen offers up even more proof:
Team and league sources said that while the Celtics were willing to part with Rondo if it yielded someone of Paul's caliber, they are not actively trying to unload him. Two general managers initially involved in the Rondo-Paul trade talks as a potential third party confirmed Thursday they have not received any calls in recent months from Boston regarding their point guard.
The next ten years will be dominated by the scoring point guard that can create his own shot inside and outside. Rondo isn't there yet, but he could be. His greatest strength right now is his ability to distribute the ball. We take this for granted but consider this: the team as constructed today does not have a scorer that predominantly handles the ball. Unlike the Heat, Bulls, Thunder, or Lakers, the Celtics are geared to have the point guard act more as a distributor rather than a creator. Rondo's skill set is perfect for this system: he's got incredible court vision, speed, and an uncanny ability to pass.
There's been a lot of conversation about whether or not Rondo is a franchise player. That's a tough point to argue. Was John Stockton a franchise point guard? If Bob Cousy was playing today, would the Celtics consider trading him for Steph Curry because Steph Curry is a better scorer? I doubt it and I think (and hope) that's what Doc and Danny are thinking, too. Let's remember that Rondo is signed at a bargain for three years after this season. To argue whether or not he's a franchise player is moot because the Celtics aren't paying him to be. They'll use the cap space this summer or next summer to find that guy and Danny's pitch will be, "sure, the winters are tough but we've got a point guard here that wants to get you the ball and a coach who will work with him to get it to you. Enough about us, let's buy you a jacket."