Doc Rivers sounds annoyed with all the Rajon Rondo trade rumors:
Rivers said Thursday afternoon he is irked by reports the Celtics were aggressively shopping his mercurial point guard and frustrated that his relationship with Rondo is being cited as one of the reasons Boston is willing to part with him.
"My relationship with Rajon is as strong as it has ever been," he 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."
Wow. Those are some strong words from Doc Rivers. If he was just trying to cover up a rift, I doubt he would go to such extremes.
Jackie MacMullan has more evidence disputing the trade reports:
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.
"Rondo is a moody guy," one Celtics official said, "but so what? Stand in line. There's a league full of NBA guys who are more high-maintenance than he is.
"He's a real competitor, wants to get better and he's a real gamer. Doc loves the fact that Rondo will fight through anything to be out on the court."
I'll take Jackie Mac's sources over Chris Broussard's every day of the week.
During his weekly appearance on WEEI, Danny Ainge called Rondo the team's best player and reiterated that he is not actively trying to trade his point guard.
(Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
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