Rajon Rondo, out since last February with a torn ACL, is so close to returning that he is aching for full-court, live action. And so, he is open to playing some games in the NBDL, the NBA’s minor league, to test his knee.
“So we’ve been talking to Rajon — he’s just looking for opportunities,” Boston Celtics executive Danny Ainge said Thursday during his weekly appearance on Boston sports radio 98.5 The Sports Hub. “It’s funny, about 10 days ago he was looking for the guys in the office to get their gear on to go down and play 5-on-5 against him. There’s not enough practice time–there has been 5-on-5 practice, but we’re not playing game-like and going up and down; we’ve been playing so many games.
“He’s anxious to practice and to play. It was his idea [to consider NBDL team in Maine] actually, to go practice with the Red Claws and possibly play with Maine Red Claws at some point. But those are still in discussion. I’m not sure when he would do that, but that’s probably the next step.”
Rondo confirmed later Thursday that a stint with the Red Claws is a possibility as he navigates the final stages of his rehab from ACL surgery and said that he’d embrace the idea of being one of the league’s first superstars to travel that path.
“I think that’s what [the D-League is] for,” Rondo told reporters in Chicago before the Celtics fell 94-82 to the Bulls. “I’d probably be the first guy to do that, but it doesn’t make a difference. I want to make sure I’m healthy and I handle it the right way. I don’t want my first [game-like action] to be with the Celtics. I haven’t had a preseason. I haven’t had a training camp. Right now, this is pretty much my training camp.”
Rondo added, “It’s an idea, definitely. That’s more game-like speed. With our schedule, with the Celtics, we don’t get a chance to play a lot of pickup, so [the Red Claws] might be a possibility.”
