Ric Bucher: Rondo Extension Talks Not Dead Yet

[GKC]

Article: http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/news/story?id=4598072

Posted around 11pm ET, 27th, Tuesday

Ric Bucher discussed how Rondo's agent, Bill Duffy, traveled alongside the team to Cleveland to continue talks with Ainge, and that an extension before Saturday's deadline is still possible

Celtics director of basketball operations Danny Ainge and Duffy met at Tuesday night's Celtics-Cavaliers game in Cleveland, and the team made a counterproposal that has rekindled negotiations.

Before the Celtics' opener against the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Tuesday, Rondo wouldn't comment on his contract status.

"It'll take care of itself," he said. "I'm focused on Cleveland right now."

---
Edit: Marc Spears of Yahoo! confirms the story here:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Ar0IrloptutqpG7GQplRXFq8vLYF?slug=mc-rondotalks102709&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

From Bill Duffy

“Our position was firm, but Danny Ainge reached out and said they were willing to move,” Duffy told Yahoo! Sports in a phone interview. “Our mind was made up on this. But he said, ‘Let’s try to talk again, let us put some stuff together and talk [Wednesday]...if the Celtics are looking to move, we'll entertain it ”

“It comes down to how much they’re willing to move,” Duffy said. “But Rajon is completely prepared to play his contract out [to become a restricted free agent].”

Marc Spears also does mention that most of the point guards of the class of 2010 are expected to get extensions or already have (Kidd and Nash), and that Rondo would be the best point guard in that free agent class.

[Roy Hobbs]

Here's the Mark Murphy article from the Herald:

It appears Rajon Rondo and the Celtics could still get a contract extension hammered out this week, after all.

Rondo’s agent, Bill Duffy, flew to Cleveland for the Celtics’ season opener against the Cavaliers tonight and was expected to meet with C’s general manager Danny Ainge.

Duffy declined comment, but team and league sources disputed a Yahoo! Sports report that had Duffy saying negotiations on Rondo’s extension are done and that the point guard would become a restricted free agent next summer.

"We still have until Halloween," said a Celtics source.

Rondo, who appeared to be surprised by Duffy’s comments in the report, said "I don’t know what he’s saying. Right now I’m just focused on Cleveland.

"I would like to get (an extension) done. It is what it is, but it’s not like I’m worried about it. ... The contract will take care of itself.

"It’s interesting," Rondo added. "Guys warned me what it was going to be like, but everyone has to go through it for themselves."

Basically, it sounds like Duffy is doing a lot of posturing / tough negotiating, to get his client as big of a deal as possible.  That is, of course, what agents do, but it will be interesting to see what Rondo's wishes are.  If he's good with something like 5 years, $50 million, I bet this gets done, regardless of what his agent says to the media.

[CoachBo]

Here's the Mark Murphy article from the Herald:

It appears Rajon Rondo and the Celtics could still get a contract extension hammered out this week, after all.

Rondo’s agent, Bill Duffy, flew to Cleveland for the Celtics’ season opener against the Cavaliers tonight and was expected to meet with C’s general manager Danny Ainge.

Duffy declined comment, but team and league sources disputed a Yahoo! Sports report that had Duffy saying negotiations on Rondo’s extension are done and that the point guard would become a restricted free agent next summer.

"We still have until Halloween," said a Celtics source.

Rondo, who appeared to be surprised by Duffy’s comments in the report, said "I don’t know what he’s saying. Right now I’m just focused on Cleveland.

"I would like to get (an extension) done. It is what it is, but it’s not like I’m worried about it. ... The contract will take care of itself.

"It’s interesting," Rondo added. "Guys warned me what it was going to be like, but everyone has to go through it for themselves."

Basically, it sounds like Duffy is doing a lot of posturing / tough negotiating, to get his client as big of a deal as possible.  That is, of course, what agents do, but it will be interesting to see what Rondo's wishes are.  If he's good with something like 5 years, $50 million, I bet this gets done, regardless of what his agent says to the media.

Agreed. That's probably a good price for the Celtics at this point.

[BballTim]

Here's the Mark Murphy article from the Herald:

It appears Rajon Rondo and the Celtics could still get a contract extension hammered out this week, after all.

Rondo’s agent, Bill Duffy, flew to Cleveland for the Celtics’ season opener against the Cavaliers tonight and was expected to meet with C’s general manager Danny Ainge.

Duffy declined comment, but team and league sources disputed a Yahoo! Sports report that had Duffy saying negotiations on Rondo’s extension are done and that the point guard would become a restricted free agent next summer.

"We still have until Halloween," said a Celtics source.

Rondo, who appeared to be surprised by Duffy’s comments in the report, said "I don’t know what he’s saying. Right now I’m just focused on Cleveland.

"I would like to get (an extension) done. It is what it is, but it’s not like I’m worried about it. ... The contract will take care of itself.

"It’s interesting," Rondo added. "Guys warned me what it was going to be like, but everyone has to go through it for themselves."

Basically, it sounds like Duffy is doing a lot of posturing / tough negotiating, to get his client as big of a deal as possible.  That is, of course, what agents do, but it will be interesting to see what Rondo's wishes are.  If he's good with something like 5 years, $50 million, I bet this gets done, regardless of what his agent says to the media.

  Doesn't that seem like a pretty clumsy maneuver though? Announcing that there will be no deal because the two sides are so far apart (when they're not really that far apart) seems pretty amateurish, like he's just going down the list in his "Negotiating For Dummies" book.

[ssspence]

Here's the Mark Murphy article from the Herald:

It appears Rajon Rondo and the Celtics could still get a contract extension hammered out this week, after all.

Rondo’s agent, Bill Duffy, flew to Cleveland for the Celtics’ season opener against the Cavaliers tonight and was expected to meet with C’s general manager Danny Ainge.

Duffy declined comment, but team and league sources disputed a Yahoo! Sports report that had Duffy saying negotiations on Rondo’s extension are done and that the point guard would become a restricted free agent next summer.

"We still have until Halloween," said a Celtics source.

Rondo, who appeared to be surprised by Duffy’s comments in the report, said "I don’t know what he’s saying. Right now I’m just focused on Cleveland.

"I would like to get (an extension) done. It is what it is, but it’s not like I’m worried about it. ... The contract will take care of itself.

"It’s interesting," Rondo added. "Guys warned me what it was going to be like, but everyone has to go through it for themselves."

Basically, it sounds like Duffy is doing a lot of posturing / tough negotiating, to get his client as big of a deal as possible.  That is, of course, what agents do, but it will be interesting to see what Rondo's wishes are.  If he's good with something like 5 years, $50 million, I bet this gets done, regardless of what his agent says to the media.

  Doesn't that seem like a pretty clumsy maneuver though? Announcing that there will be no deal because the two sides are so far apart (when they're not really that far apart) seems pretty amateurish, like he's just going down the list in his "Negotiating For Dummies" book.

Right, totally predicatable and certainly a bit weak. Doesn't Duffy and every agent know that GMs and Owners are smart enough to understand such posturing? All this, 'we didn't move, they did' and 'we're fully prepared to play out his contract' is just broken record material and -- in the case of the former -- total BS. Does Duffy actually think that anyone will believe Danny read that article yesterday and said 'ok ok Bill, you win, we'll move up'? Does Duffy imagine that public pressure or fan pressure will make the Celtics change their minds? Does he think he'll win clients this way? It's pretty strange...

[Fafnir]

Clumsy, yeah I think it was. In the end the point of the statement that Rondo wouldn't sign after Monday's session was meant to signal that the C's had to come up with a counter. In that it was successful. We'll see what happens, he looked good last night, in Cleveland of all places.

[BballTim]

Clumsy, yeah I think it was. In the end the point of the statement that Rondo wouldn't sign after Monday's session was meant to signal that the C's had to come up with a counter. In that it was successful. We'll see what happens, he looked good last night, in Cleveland of all places.

 I don't think that it caused Ainge to do aything he wasn't planning on. I doubt Danny made a take it or leave it offer and then caved after Duffy's statement.

[the_Bird]

If they're within $10M or so right now, seems like a deal has to get done.  Especially with the way he throws his body around when he plays, the risk of Rondo getting hurt and not getting a good contract offer next summer is real.  Rondo's not LeBron; LeBron could lose both legs in a tragic gardening accident and you'd still see a dozen teams offer him a max deal.  Short of improvement beyond that what's evident so far, I don't see how Rondo's looking at a helluva lot more $$ next summer than is on the table today. 

Still think a shorter extension (like what LeBron signed) makes sense for both sides; Rondo gets a good amount of money locked in, but alos gets a chance to prove himself to be a MAX player (which no one believes he is currently) and become a free agent again in a couple years.  Celtics aren't locked in to any overly long-term committments, and the pressure stays on Rondo to keep improving.  Three-year, $32M or so, maybe a little less if the third year is a player option. 

If Rondo's as good as we all hope, he'll be a $16M - $18M player in three years' time, and Danny won't mind paying him that IF he's proven that. 

[Fafnir]

Clumsy, yeah I think it was. In the end the point of the statement that Rondo wouldn't sign after Monday's session was meant to signal that the C's had to come up with a counter. In that it was successful. We'll see what happens, he looked good last night, in Cleveland of all places.

 I don't think that it caused Ainge to do aything he wasn't planning on. I doubt Danny made a take it or leave it offer and then caved after Duffy's statement.

According to reports he did make a "final offer", that wasn't really final. So who knows what happened. I do agree that Ainge likely didn't change his plan of action because of the statement, but it's not like it cost Rondo anything either.

[winsomme]

whatever the case may be, the smart thing for the Cs is to get this done now.

as we saw with Manny, playing for a contract does necessarily mean you are going to get the best of  a player for that year. sometimes the pressure becomes a distraction because a player can get caught up thinking about his position and not the team.

if all we're talking about is 1-2 mil per, I really want them to get this done so it won't be a lingering story.

also, barring injury, I actually think 10 mil per is a fair deal.

[BballTim]

Clumsy, yeah I think it was. In the end the point of the statement that Rondo wouldn't sign after Monday's session was meant to signal that the C's had to come up with a counter. In that it was successful. We'll see what happens, he looked good last night, in Cleveland of all places.

 I don't think that it caused Ainge to do aything he wasn't planning on. I doubt Danny made a take it or leave it offer and then caved after Duffy's statement.

According to reports he did make a "final offer", that wasn't really final. So who knows what happened. I do agree that Ainge likely didn't change his plan of action because of the statement, but it's not like it cost Rondo anything either.

  Reports from the agent? It was, as far as I've seen, the first time they'd sat down and negotiated offers. But would Danny come in and say "I'm offering $9M a year, but I'm willing to go higher"?

[Fafnir]

Clumsy, yeah I think it was. In the end the point of the statement that Rondo wouldn't sign after Monday's session was meant to signal that the C's had to come up with a counter. In that it was successful. We'll see what happens, he looked good last night, in Cleveland of all places.

 I don't think that it caused Ainge to do aything he wasn't planning on. I doubt Danny made a take it or leave it offer and then caved after Duffy's statement.

According to reports he did make a "final offer", that wasn't really final. So who knows what happened. I do agree that Ainge likely didn't change his plan of action because of the statement, but it's not like it cost Rondo anything either.

  Reports from the agent? It was, as far as I've seen, the first time they'd sat down and negotiated offers. But would Danny come in and say "I'm offering $9M a year, but I'm willing to go higher"?

They exchanged proposals Monday night, and had earlier agreed to meet face to face in Cleveland. However the exhange didn't go well Monday. So they had been negotiating, just not in person.

[Chris]

whatever the case may be, the smart thing for the Cs is to get this done now.

as we saw with Manny, playing for a contract does necessarily mean you are going to get the best of  a player for that year. sometimes the pressure becomes a distraction because a player can get caught up thinking about his position and not the team.

if all we're talking about is 1-2 mil per, I really want them to get this done so it won't be a lingering story.

also, barring injury, I actually think 10 mil per is a fair deal.

Are you seriously comparing Rondo to Manny?  God, I hope they are nothing alike.  

I really see no way the contract gets in the way of Rondo's performance this year.  He is too competitive to let it affect him negatively.

[winsomme]

whatever the case may be, the smart thing for the Cs is to get this done now.

as we saw with Manny, playing for a contract does necessarily mean you are going to get the best of  a player for that year. sometimes the pressure becomes a distraction because a player can get caught up thinking about his position and not the team.

if all we're talking about is 1-2 mil per, I really want them to get this done so it won't be a lingering story.

also, barring injury, I actually think 10 mil per is a fair deal.

Are you seriously comparing Rondo to Manny?  God, I hope they are nothing alike.  

I really see no way the contract gets in the way of Rondo's performance this year.  He is too competitive to let it affect him negatively.

I'm actually in the minority and a Manny fan, but yeah it's not an exact comparison. I just think we usually assume that players playing for contracts is a good situation for the team they're playing for.

but I don't think that is necessarily what ends up playing out. I think players playing for contracts can lead you to a place of distraction and unnecessary pressure and in the end backfire.

the money seems close and fair, so I really hope they get it done.

[Roy Hobbs]

Here's the Mark Murphy article from the Herald:

It appears Rajon Rondo and the Celtics could still get a contract extension hammered out this week, after all.

Rondo’s agent, Bill Duffy, flew to Cleveland for the Celtics’ season opener against the Cavaliers tonight and was expected to meet with C’s general manager Danny Ainge.

Duffy declined comment, but team and league sources disputed a Yahoo! Sports report that had Duffy saying negotiations on Rondo’s extension are done and that the point guard would become a restricted free agent next summer.

"We still have until Halloween," said a Celtics source.

Rondo, who appeared to be surprised by Duffy’s comments in the report, said "I don’t know what he’s saying. Right now I’m just focused on Cleveland.

"I would like to get (an extension) done. It is what it is, but it’s not like I’m worried about it. ... The contract will take care of itself.

"It’s interesting," Rondo added. "Guys warned me what it was going to be like, but everyone has to go through it for themselves."

Basically, it sounds like Duffy is doing a lot of posturing / tough negotiating, to get his client as big of a deal as possible.  That is, of course, what agents do, but it will be interesting to see what Rondo's wishes are.  If he's good with something like 5 years, $50 million, I bet this gets done, regardless of what his agent says to the media.

  Doesn't that seem like a pretty clumsy maneuver though? Announcing that there will be no deal because the two sides are so far apart (when they're not really that far apart) seems pretty amateurish, like he's just going down the list in his "Negotiating For Dummies" book.

I don't know, Scott Boras pulls stuff like this all the time, and invariably, it works.