So as many of you already know, I have some contacts within NBA bball operation circles. I recently had a conversation with a couple guys who I will leave unnamed and the focus shifted towards Rondo/Celtics.

One question that I asked was in response to some of the Rondo quotes from last week when Rondo commented on reaching out to "recruit" some players to Boston. He said he wouldn't comment on who they might be. So I asked the question, "any idea who Rondo might be referring to?"

I was told Rondo that would love to have Rudy Gay join him in Boston and that it's likely that's he's spoken with both Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol about playing together in Boston. Rondo thinks Ainge will be able to maneuver enough in-season to open up enough space to sign all 3 (Rondo, Gay, Gasol) and that paired with some of the young talent in house (Smart, Young, Sullinger, Bradley, Olynyk) Rondo is very confident that the Celtics can get back to contention quicker then most people anticipate.
I was told that Rondo has every intention of staying in Boston long-term and that he'll even be willing to take a little less if Ainge can bring in established talent around him.

So that's good news. Another question I asked was the following, "but what if Danny trades Rondo? Is that still a possibility?" The response I got was that Ainge isn't going to shop Rondo but that he will listen to calls, especially if the season goes down hill and they struggle again like last year. As an UFA I'm told that Rondo would seriously consider the Knicks (with Gasol) and that NY would be the front runner to sign Rondo if Rondo is traded in season. But if Rondo makes it through the season in Boston then it is highly unlikely that he will leave. So I guess that's good news

I was also told that Boston yet again is likely to be a team that makes numerous in-season moves with the purpose of developing young players and setting themselves up to sign Free Agents.