John Clay’s Sidelines

Danny Ainge at press conference Tuesday to discuss draft. (AP Photo/Eric J. Shelton)

Steve Moss over at WKY-TV sent an interesting tweet reporting that Rajon Rondo, torrid subject of the NBA rumor mill the past few days, is working Larry O’Bannon’s camp in his hometown of Louisville.

Moss reports that Rondo declined interviews, explaining he had been instructed by his agent not to talk to the media.

Rondo’s agent is Bill Duffy, who is not overly thrilled with Boston Celtics’ general manager Danny Ainge at the moment. There are those reports the 2008 champs are shopping their point guard, plus Ainge’s comment this week that while has no intentions of trading No. 9, Rondo needed to “mature” after showing up late for a playoff game.

When asked by the Boston Herald if the relationship between Rondo and the Celtics needed repairing, Duffy said, “That remains to be seen.”

Meanwhile, in the Boston Globe, columnist Dan Shaughnessy writes that now is not the time for Boston to move the ex-Cat.

An excerpt:

Of course, this doesn’t mean that Ainge would never trade his flossy point guard. Danny can always go Rick Pitino on us and say, “That’s how I felt at the time.” But logic says the window is closing on the Celtics’ opportunity for banner No. 18. Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen are not getting younger. Boston’s best shot for a championship is next year. That means this is no time to be trading your 23-year-old point guard who almost averaged a triple-double throughout the playoffs.

But Tony Massarotti writes in the Globe that while Rondo is good, he’s not ready to say he’s great.

Excerpt:

Trade Rondo? You bet I would, assuming the Celtics got fair value in return. Admittedly, fair is a highly subjective term. But if you were even remotely surprised by Danny Ainge’s recent admission that nobody is untouchable, you have not been paying attention to the world of professional sports, in general, or to the case of Rondo, in particular. And lest anyone think this is all some sort of commentary on Rondo’s off-court issues, as we have come to learn them.