His agent, Bill Duffy, sent along instructions that Rondo not discuss his contract - or impending talks on an extension - with the media. His maturity has been dissected to kingdom come, but Rondo, leaning back in the chair that was his station during yesterday morning's scrimmage at Rollins College, seems amused by all of the fuss.

``I don't know - sometimes I hear people say that I'm awfully young to be in the NBA, like I'm not even 23,'' he said. ``Sometimes it seems like people are going at me like I'm 30, but that's OK.''

Mention of his tardiness and subsequent fine for reporting late to a playoff game triggered a little more edge in his voice. ``Oh, they're going to dig at things,'' he said, ``but I'm not making excuses for anything, and I don't have any regrets. I just play to win.'' He also didn't object to flying to Orlando on Friday at the request of Celtics management, which floated the idea with the player three weeks ago. He even did some of the little things yesterday, like rebounding for Kevin Rogers while the free agent guard shot free throws.

This certainly isn't the kind of task that a disenfranchised, about-to-be-traded star would perform. ``You hear them, but I don't watch a lot of TV,'' he said of the flurry of rumors during draft week. ``I got a lot of phone calls from friends, but I didn't answer a lot of them. I was traveling a lot.

``But probably the biggest one was that Detroit rumor,'' Rondo said of a report that had Celtics officials allegedly talking with the Pistons about a deal that would have sent Rondo and Ray Allen to Detroit for Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rodney Stuckey. ``I was on the train going from New York to Boston. I got the most calls of anything on that one.

``But you can't prepare for it or pay too much attention to it, because it's a business.''

And then he paused, before adding of a possible trade, ``It's still not too late to happen.''

For the time being, though, Rondo gets to indulge in a change of perspective.

For one week, he's a coach and a teacher.

Rondo worked on his teaching chops last month during a Nike-sponsored trip to China. For one week, he and Houston point guard Aaron Brooks taught the game to 90 Chinese youngsters, while also walking the Great Wall and enjoying a change in culture.

And now he gets to feel what a coach feels, including the frustration.

You might say that he now understands why Doc Rivers can get discouraged when what gets called in the huddle doesn't get carried out on the floor. ``It's frustrating when you call for something and the guys go out and turn the ball over,'' Rondo said.

``But it's only two days, and the guys are coming from different teams and systems, so it's hard. But I'm cool. I get to look at things and learn the coach's perspective.''

In the meantime, Rondo can also keep those nasty reports from the outside world at bay.

- mrmurphy@bostonherald.com