Rajon Rondo is coming back to a totally different Boston Celtics roster.
Rondo is the now the Celtics leader, and he needs to be around to lead. ESPN.com is reporting that Celtics president Danny Ainge is eyeing an opening night return for the star point guard.
Ainge did admit that the team might have to take it slow with Rondo during training camp starting in late September, but said being ready for opening night in late October was a reasonable goal.
That’s still an aggressive timeline considering Rondo had surgery in February and would be little more than eight months removed from surgery for that partially torn ACL by opening night.
There has been some talk of the Celtics having Rondo sit the whole season out. Many feel the Celtics are going to either purposely tank, or be forced to tank due to weak personnel.
Rondo is not the type to tank or willingly miss any games, so we can expect 2013 to be Rondo’s most frustrating, yet fulfilling season as a pro.