Celtics are playing with fire
Only if the player grows up. IF rondo is has as bad of an attitude problem and refuses to address certain things in his game because he "knows" they aren't problems (like his jump shot) The the celtics may be correct in not giving him a huge contract a year before they have to.
I don't think anyone knows the answer for certain.
But I suspect this one is closest to the truth: The club has had these conversations with Rondo before - several times. And they don't feel like he's addressing their concerns.
It's really no different than any employee who gets an action plan in a review: Management expects the issues to be addressed. If they're not, the employee cannot count on continued employment.
This summer, I suspect, is Celtics management's last attempt at getting Rondo to improve. If it doesn't happen, what happens next summer is anyone's guess. But my guess is it won't be a max extension. It should be pretty clear to everyone, though, that management isn't happy with Rondo's attention to detail. Clearly, trading Rondo is a last resort; you don't build value by telling the world your problems with your point guard. But equally clearly, the end of this relationship isn't off the table, either.
Wyc, Doc and Danny aren't getting paid to worship their heroes. That job falls to blogs like this one. They're earning money and rings by maximizing the talents of their players. Looks to me like they're intent on not overpaying for the Rondo package that exists right now - and sports history is replete with ugly tales of how stubborn players react to huge contracts - and they're making one last attempt to find an alternative.
Historically, when a team begins dealing with a player in public, it's because the behind-the-scenes discussions have failed. If Rondo 2009 is Rondo 2010, then I'm extremely pessimistic that he remains a Celtic. Danny will try to move him, and then if that doesn't work, he'll see how the market defines Rondo's value. If it's a big number ...