Rajon Rondo Says Birthday Off-Day Story “My business…Not Yours.”

Perhaps you’ve missed the recent Rajon Rondo non-story. According to Rondo’s most recent words on the subject, following Boston’s 115-104 win in Atlanta on Wednesday, that’s intentional. When asked by reporters after the game what the story was, Rondo replied in a typically annoyed fashion, “It’s my business. It’s not yours.” Which, well, he’s right.

First, some background as to what Rondo was even asked about. Last weekend Rondo and the C’s where doing a west coast swing with a back-to-back in California. On Friday night they lost to the Lakers on ESPN. The next night the C’s lost in Sacramento, but Rondo wasn’t there to cheer on his teammates.

Up until now Rondo has sat out the back end of back-to-backs as he continues getting into playing shape following his ACL tear last season. So instead of flying north to Sac-town on Saturday, he stayed in LA to celebrate his 28th birthday with friends and family. But some within the Celtics organization didn’t think that move was very kosher, and that’s the “story” Rondo answered icily about.

Per the Boston Herald:

He could still be fined, and he clearly upset some Celtics management types by celebrating his birthday in Los Angeles while teammates played in Sacramento last Saturday, but as far as Rajon Rondo is concerned, it’s nobody’s business.

“I haven’t really read much about it. I heard a lot of comments. Nobody knows the stories,” the Celtics point guard said after last night’s 115-104 C’s win over Atlanta. “You guys keep making up every story that you possibly can.”

Asked about what, exactly, that story was, Rondo said, “It’s my business. It’s not yours.”

C’s coach Brad Stevens navigated the murky water around the incident while answering questions, and teammate Gerald Wallace didn’t seem to think it was a big deal.

“I’ve talked to him, and we’re handling all of that internally,” said the C’s coach. “We sat down and talked Monday. In my mind we’re moving forward, and when Danny gets back in town they can meet, and we’ll move on from there.

“The biggest thing right now is for me to move forward and us to move forward,” said Stevens. “It’s a great question to ask, and something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. But I’ve passed that point.”

At least one teammate doesn’t see what the problem is.

“He hasn’t played in back-to-backs anyway, so I don’t see the big deal in it,” said Gerald Wallace.

We’re with Rondo on this one, even if it might set a bad precedent for the younger Celtics. It was his birthday, his whole family had flown out to LA to be with him. We’re not privy to how he informed the team of his decision, but we trust it was as forthright as he could make it. The Celtics aren’t very good, but Rondo is their ostensible leader. They should back him unless there’s something else to the story than what’s been released.

Bill Russell, our fav, used to drink coffee and read the paper during Celtics practices in the late 1960s. Red Auerbach afforded him that right because of all the pounding he took as their leader. Rondo isn’t Russell — even by a long shot — but he should get to celebrate his birthday however he wants. Not sure the Celtics organization agrees, though.

(Boston Herald)

What do you think of Rondo’s no-show in Sacramento?

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