Celtics deny trying to trade Rajon Rondo

When the NBA lockout finally got wrapped up and teams could start signing free agents, waiving big-contract players, and trading whomever else was left, things got a little nutty, particularly for the teams trying to acquire Chris Paul or Dwight Howard.

The Boston Celtics were said to be interested in landing Paul and one of the rumors had it that Rajon Rondo could have disappeared via trade to make it happen.

Danny Ainge, the president of basketball operations, is now saying that the team never actively pushed to trade Rondo. "I sat down with Rondo when he got back into town, when the lockout ended, and I just told him the truth of what was going on," Ainge said, according to WEEI.com. "I've had conversations since, told him exactly what was happening. … I was not trying to trade Rajon Rondo. There's a big difference between trying to acquire a player and trying to trade a player. Rondo knows what I was trying to do, and he knows I wasn't shopping him around and trying to trade him, as has been reported. There's a big difference."

It doesn't appear that the rumors have affected Rondo's performance much. In fact, the team might want to circulate more of them: The 25-year-old two-time All-Star has gone up in scoring and rebounding this season as compared to last while falling slightly in assists: He is averaging 15.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game. Last season, he averaged 10.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 11.2 assists.

Don't forget to follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.