Basketball Celts, Rondo still talking

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Although the past few days have been mostly quiet on the contract front for Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo, both sides are expected to connect Sunday for one last attempt to come together on a new deal before Monday's deadline for contract extensions for members of the 2006 draft class.

The annual deadline for such extensions is Oct. 31 every season but was moved to Monday at 11:59 p.m. by the NBA because Halloween fell on a Saturday. League rules stipulate that the deadline moves to the next possible business day if it coincides with a Saturday, Sunday or national holiday.

Rondo's camp appeared prepared to scrap the idea of further talks and consider the matter of an extension closed as recently as Monday. Yet a meeting Tuesday in Cleveland between Celtics director of basketball operations Danny Ainge and Rondo's agent, Bill Duffy, resuscitated talks, with Boston making unspecified improvements to its previous offer.

Ainge, though, told the Boston Herald on Friday that he hadn't even discussed the extended deadline with Duffy after Tuesday's sitdown and said of the extra time: "I don't know if it helps or it doesn't help."

Rondo, meanwhile, has made it clear that he is more than prepared to play on without an extension and join the vaunted 2010 free-agent class as a restricted free agent next July 1, when he would almost surely attract a lucrative long-term offer from an external suitor. The Celtics would have seven days to match an offer in that scenario unless they strike their own deal with Rondo first.

"I have no idea whether we'll get something done [by the deadline]," Rondo told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard on Oct. 20. "It's not something I'm worried about. It's just not a big deal right now. Of course I'd like to get it done, but if it doesn't happen, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

"My agent's got a certain number in mind and if they don't reach that, we'll just wait. I feel like if we win another title, obviously that helps my chances [of getting more money]."

The Celtics have also expressed public confidence that the absence of an extension won't affect Rondo's play this season. In a interview Friday with Boston's WEEI radio, Celtics coach Doc Rivers said: "Obviously I think both sides are working to get [an extension] done. I think if it happens, it's great. If it doesn't, I don't think it affects either side. Like [I've] said before, I believe he'll be a Celtic for life whether he gets this deal done [before the deadline or not]."

Rondo would be the biggest name from the 2006 draft class not to land an extension if no deal can be struck by Monday, but he'd hardly be alone. In yet another illustration of the global economic downturn's effect on the NBA, only four 2006 first-rounders have received extensions so far: No. 1 overall pick Andrea Bargnani, No. 2 LaMarcus Aldridge, No. 6 Brandon Roy and No. 13 Thabo Sefolosha.

Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay and Chicago Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas join Rondo on the list of prominent alumni from the '06 draft who for weeks have been resigned to the fact that they were unlikely to receive an extension, although Gay and the Grizzlies -- unlike Thomas and the Bulls -- are still talking.

"The talks never died," Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said Saturday. "We have been talking since early in the summer."

WEEI reported earlier this week that the Celtics offered Rondo a five-year, $45 million extension. But Rondo, according to the station, is seeking a five-year deal worth between $55 million and $60 million.

Rondo is earning $2.3 million this season in the last year of his rookie contract. He averaged 11.9 points, 8.2 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game last season but pushed those averages to an impressive near triple-double in the playoffs with star forward Kevin Garnett sidelined.
 
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