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[bfrombleacher]

The goodwill we have with him is probably only a notch below franchise players like Dirk and Timmy D.

Can't believe nobody mentioned how he sacrificed his arm. This guy will give his all to win...for the Celtics.

[mctyson]

Rondo is really smart.  He knows Danny is devoted to him, until Chris Paul becomes available.  So...not really.

[slamtheking]

The goodwill we have with him is probably only a notch below franchise players like Dirk and Timmy D.

Can't believe nobody mentioned how he sacrificed his arm. This guy will give his all to win...for the Celtics.

no doubt he has an incredible will to win but I think that would be the case regardless of what team he was playing for.

I expect him to look for the biggest paycheck when this contract is up.  If all goes right, the C's will be the team that can offer that, he'll know that well in advance and Danny and Rondo's agent get that contract completed before he hits free agency.  That would be huge since he'll be the biggest draw for free agents in the post PP/KG era.

[mgent]

I don't see rondo ever getting a chance to hit free agency. Danny's gonna lock him up each time an why wouldn't he. If rondo wanted out he wouldn't have signed to such a good deal.

Rondo signing a good deal now in retrospect doesn't mean he is happy about it now though. He's got a fat fat payday in 2 years, and I believe if he could take it back, he would've signed a shorter term deal at the time.

Ehh.  You could say that about every player.  In an ideal world guys would only sign 1 year deals and get a raise every year equal to how much they improved/get their max deal as soon as possible.  That's not how it's done, young guys want the security and they know that if they DO manage to stay healthy they have plenty of time to earn more money.

Rondo was coming off a 17-10-10 playoff performance.  He knew what he was doing.  I highly doubt he thought 17-12-7 on better shooting (last year's playoffs) was outside of his reach.  He could've gotten a similar deal back then on the open market but he chose the security instead giving us the money to keep multiple HOFers and a solid supporting cast around him while he continued to make his name.

[IndeedProceed]

I don't see rondo ever getting a chance to hit free agency. Danny's gonna lock him up each time an why wouldn't he. If rondo wanted out he wouldn't have signed to such a good deal.

Rondo signing a good deal now in retrospect doesn't mean he is happy about it now though. He's got a fat fat payday in 2 years, and I believe if he could take it back, he would've signed a shorter term deal at the time.

Ehh.  You could say that about every player.  In an ideal world guys would only sign 1 year deals and get a raise every year equal to how much they improved/get their max deal as soon as possible.  That's not how it's done, young guys want the security and they know that if they DO manage to stay healthy they have plenty of time to earn more money.

Yes, you could say that about every player who outperforms his contract, and you should, because its true. Rondo took security, but I bet he's wishing now that he would've kept the deal to 3 years max.

[RJ87]

I think his contract ends in 2015. Why would his agent call this year?

because he is vastly underpaid and if he was not looking to bolt he would have called for an extension at a higher rate. The only reason he has not called is because rr wants to test free agency

That's not how the NBA's CBA works - this isn't baseball where guys can add extensions onto existing contracts with multiple years left. An extension for Rondo is basically a non-conversation until the 2014/15 season when he can actually sign one.

[nickagneta]

How devoted can we as fans know that any professional athlete is to the team that pays them? Wasn't most of Celticsblog convinced Ray Allen was devoted to the Celtics before he took half the money to go elsewhere?

How many of us are devoted long term to our jobs?

I think Rondo is devoted to winning with this team right now. I think he has seen that the coaching staff and the management has decided this is "his" team going forward. I think as long as the Celtics continue to win and management and the coaching staff give Rondo what he is getting right now, or what he wants in the future he will be dedicated to the Celtics.

Once anything changes, like the Celtics start losing, Doc leaves, management decides he is an asset and tries to continually trade him, then I think there's a good chance Rondo's devotion to the team could change.

And really, I think that's all anyone can think at this point. There's just no evidence to think any other thing.

[IndeedProceed]

I think Rondo is devoted to winning with this team right now. I think he has seen that the coaching staff and the management has decided this is "his" team going forward. I think as long as the Celtics continue to win and management and the coaching staff give Rondo what he is getting right now, or what he wants in the future he will be dedicated to the Celtics.

Once anything changes, like the Celtics start losing, Doc leaves, management decides he is an asset and tries to continually trade him, then I think there's a good chance Rondo's devotion to the team could change.

And really, I think that's all anyone can think at this point. There's just no evidence to think any other thing.

And its not really a bad thing at all either. If Bruce Hornsby was going to comment on it, I bet he's say something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlRQjzltaMQ

[Celtics18]

I don't see rondo ever getting a chance to hit free agency. Danny's gonna lock him up each time an why wouldn't he. If rondo wanted out he wouldn't have signed to such a good deal.

Rondo signing a good deal now in retrospect doesn't mean he is happy about it now though. He's got a fat fat payday in 2 years, and I believe if he could take it back, he would've signed a shorter term deal at the time.

Ehh.  You could say that about every player.  In an ideal world guys would only sign 1 year deals and get a raise every year equal to how much they improved/get their max deal as soon as possible.  That's not how it's done, young guys want the security and they know that if they DO manage to stay healthy they have plenty of time to earn more money.

Yes, you could say that about every player who outperforms his contract, and you should, because its true. Rondo took security, but I bet he's wishing now that he would've kept the deal to 3 years max.

Sometimes people make career decisions that are based on more than purely straight dollar amounts.  I think Rajon Rondo made a really good career decision, and I think he's probably very happy with that decision right now.

[Celtics4ever]

Hmmm, playing with one arm showed me he is dedicated.   A lot of guys would not have done that folks.

[Chris]

Hmmm, playing with one arm showed me he is dedicated.   A lot of guys would not have done that folks.

Eh, this showed me he is competitive.  Which I think is all we should be asking of a professional athlete anyways. 

While they can have some dedication to the organization and fans, its just not the same thing as what we have as fans.  This is still their livelihood.  So, they may have a dedication as much as one of us might have for the company we have worked for for the last 5-10 years.  But its just not like we think of it as fans.

[the_Bird]

I believe Rondo is completely devoted to his teammates and probably his coach - but beyond that, no reason to believe that his devotion to the Celtics/Boston is anything more than other players to their franchises. 

He's not Pierce, who's been the face of the franchise for more than a decade and who has bought in completely to the Celtic mystique.  Once he retires, Pierce will be showing up to sit with Mike and Scal for a quarter and do commentary.  He'll hand out the Sixth Man Award.  He'll remain an integral part of the Celtics community once he retires. 

Rondo...  I just do see it.  When Pierce and KG retires, if Doc ever leaves, I'm not sure Rondo would push for a trade but I don't see him taking a hometown discount to sign an extension.  But, I see him being 100% loyal to his teammates - as we saw in the first game against the Nets, sometimes to his detriment.

[IndeedProceed]

I don't see rondo ever getting a chance to hit free agency. Danny's gonna lock him up each time an why wouldn't he. If rondo wanted out he wouldn't have signed to such a good deal.

Rondo signing a good deal now in retrospect doesn't mean he is happy about it now though. He's got a fat fat payday in 2 years, and I believe if he could take it back, he would've signed a shorter term deal at the time.

Ehh.  You could say that about every player.  In an ideal world guys would only sign 1 year deals and get a raise every year equal to how much they improved/get their max deal as soon as possible.  That's not how it's done, young guys want the security and they know that if they DO manage to stay healthy they have plenty of time to earn more money.

Yes, you could say that about every player who outperforms his contract, and you should, because its true. Rondo took security, but I bet he's wishing now that he would've kept the deal to 3 years max.

Sometims people make career decisions that are based on more than purely straight dollar amounts.  I think Rajon Rondo made a really good career decision, and I think he's probably very happy with that decision right now.

You think he's happy being underpaid to be the best player on a team 1 game over .500?

Maybe, but personally I bet he'd love an extra 5 million clams about now. Probably wants some money too.

[Celtics18]

I don't see rondo ever getting a chance to hit free agency. Danny's gonna lock him up each time an why wouldn't he. If rondo wanted out he wouldn't have signed to such a good deal.

Rondo signing a good deal now in retrospect doesn't mean he is happy about it now though. He's got a fat fat payday in 2 years, and I believe if he could take it back, he would've signed a shorter term deal at the time.

Ehh.  You could say that about every player.  In an ideal world guys would only sign 1 year deals and get a raise every year equal to how much they improved/get their max deal as soon as possible.  That's not how it's done, young guys want the security and they know that if they DO manage to stay healthy they have plenty of time to earn more money.

Yes, you could say that about every player who outperforms his contract, and you should, because its true. Rondo took security, but I bet he's wishing now that he would've kept the deal to 3 years max.

Sometims people make career decisions that are based on more than purely straight dollar amounts.  I think Rajon Rondo made a really good career decision, and I think he's probably very happy with that decision right now.

You think he's happy being underpaid to be the best player on a team 1 game over .500?

Maybe, but personally I bet he'd love an extra 5 million clams about now. Probably wants some money too.

Rajon can buy all the clams he wants down on the South Shore.  That aside, yes, I do think he's happy.  Rajon could have probably waited it out to free agency instead of signing an extension last time around and gotten himself a higher per year dollar contract somewhere else, but I believe that this was the absolute best situation for him to turn himself into a bona fide NBA superstar over that time span. 

I think he played it smart when you look at the big picture of his NBA career.  Rajon has always struck me as a big picture kind of guy. 

[soap07]

He's not Pierce, who's been the face of the franchise for more than a decade and who has bought in completely to the Celtic mystique.  Once he retires, Pierce will be showing up to sit with Mike and Scal for a quarter and do commentary.  He'll hand out the Sixth Man Award.  He'll remain an integral part of the Celtics community once he retires. 

Some revisionist history here...Pierce would've asked for a trade if KG/Ray weren't brought in. Celtics Mystique is there when the C's are winning and have a competitive roster. Rondo has bought into that as long as the C's are winning. When they're not, like almost every star player that's ever played in the NBA, he will be unhappy.