How Does Danny Really Feel About Rondo?

Danny Ainge was on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan show this morning. Here's what Ainge had to say (courtesy the Globe and WEEI):

On being late:

"We expect him to play by the rules and be a leader as a point guard. We need him to be more of a leader," Ainge said. "There were just a couple situations where he was late this year, I don't know if he was sitting in his car, but showed up late and the rest of the team was there. We have team rules and you have to be on time. He was fined for being late, he said he was stuck in traffic, and it's just unacceptable."

On the playoff series with Orlando:

"As we saw in the Orlando series, they left him wide open," Ainge said. "His presence hurt us in winning right now because his man went and doubled onto Ray [Allen] and Paul [Pierce] and made it difficult for us."

On Rondo's attitude:

Ainge said Rondo wasn't "that disruptive of a player," but that he still hasn't fully matured.

"He's got to grow up in some cases, and I think he is, too," Ainge said. "Slowly but surely Rondo is maturing. He's getting a little bit more control over his emotions and he's responding in a more positive way as he gets older and more mature in the league."

On his contract situation:

Not right now, I don’t think that Rondo’s a max contract player. I think it’s a good goal for Rondo to have from a monetary standpoint, to be that kind of player that warrants a max-contract player. I certainly don’t see Rondo as a max contract player today.

On signing LeBron or Dwyane Wade:

It’s something we’ve discussed, and it’s something we’ve actually set ourselves up for, to have an opportunity to think along those lines. This year, it’s a tough call because we’re trying to win now. If we try to improve our team this summer, it could prevent us from having an opportunity to be in the stakes for a big superstar in 2010 unless it’s through a sign-and-trade. A sign-and-trade might be a more viable way to get him than through cap space.

You’re at a disadvantage with cap space because you can’t pay them within $30 million of what their team that they’re currently with can pay them, and you can’t pay them the length of the contract for the same amount of years. So it’s better and more likely to get a superstar free agent, in most cases, through sign-and-trades.

That’s probably our best opportunity. You also have to be an attractive team, and a team that has some value. You can’t just have the money. You have to have other players that will allow that player to win. With KG and Paul and the contracts that reamin going forward, that may be the attraction. We may not have enough money, but if you have some assets to trade for that superstar, that may be your best opportunity.

One day after Danny comes out and says he's not unhappy with Rondo, he gives this critical opinion of his point guard.

You know what this whole thing reminds me of? The KG injury fiasco. Sometimes I wonder if Ainge really knows what the hell is doing. At the very least, he needs a media relations course.