--Despite numerous rumors to the contrary, Danny Ainge insists he's not shopping Rajon Rondo. But he's been a bit critical of his point guard lately.
"There were a couple of situations where Rajon was late," the Celtics' executive director of basketball operations said. "The rest of the team was in there waiting, and there are team rules. You have to be on time, so he was fined for being late. He said he was stuck in traffic. "He is not that disruptive as a player. He has to grow up in some aspects, and I think he is, too. We need him to be more of a leader than someone who thinks more of himself at times."
--This season's draft night was far different from those in Ainge's first few years with the Celtics.
"It was intense," Ainge said of years 2003-07 when the team desperately needed to accomplish something in the draft. "I mean, there were thousands of hours of preparation and evaluation. This year there have been hundreds of hours put into it. So we still feel the same way. We still take it very seriously. But, obviously, it's a different view."
A different view and a different psyche.
"Oh, I mean, it was insane back then," Ainge said. "Like on the day before the draft and draft day -- and during the draft -- it was crazy. The phone calls, the decisions, the last-minute decisions -- it was crazy. I learned how prepared you have to be. The year that we drafted (Al) Jefferson and Delonte (West) and Tony Allen, the year we got Ryan Gomes, and the Rajon (Rondo) and Leon Powe situations, those were crazy drafts. We were trying to get some things accomplished in the heat of the battle."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We've still got a lot of work to do." -- Danny Ainge after the draft.
