Rondo Contract Talks Not Dead Yet?

While it's been considered a foregone conclusion that Rajon Rondo would not sign a contract extension with the Boston Celtics and become a restricted free agent in 2010, Yahoo! Sports' Marc Spears is reporting that some eleventh hour attempts from the Celtics may pique the fourth-year guard's interest. From Spears:

Agent Bill Duffy said Celtics president Danny Ainge restarted talks by expressing a willingness to improve a possible offer to Rondo during a meeting at halftime of Boston’s 95-89 win in Cleveland on Tuesday. On Monday, Duffy told Yahoo! Sports that Rondo would not sign a contract extension with the Celtics and would become a restricted free agent next summer. The deadline for a possible extension is Saturday.

"Our position was firm, but Danny Ainge reached out and said they were willing to move," Duffy told Yahoo! Sports in a phone interview. "Our mind was made up on this. But he said, ‘Let’s try to talk again, let us put some stuff together and talk [Wednesday].’ "

Duffy said Ainge reached out to him Tuesday morning via text message to see if they could talk at halftime of the Cleveland game. During the meeting, Duffy said Ainge spoke of an improved counterproposal from their previous contract talks.

"If the Celtics are willing to move, we’ll entertain it," Duffy said.

Duffy has told Yahoo! Sports that Rondo merits a contract worthy of a top-five point guard. A source, however, said Rondo is seeking a five-year deal in the $55 million to $65 million range.

Keep in mind: last week, another member of Rondo's draft class (LaMarcus Aldridge) signed an extension worth $65 million, himself. And, well, Rondo's better than Aldridge, and probably more valuable to the Celtics. The Celtics have until Saturday to agree to terms with Rondo on an extension, or they'll have to contend with bidders on the open market this summer, while retaining the right to match any offer that Rondo receives, because he's a restricted free agent.

It's a tricky situation, too, as both sides are dealing with a certain amount of risk. For Rondo, testing the open market is dicey, if only because his unorthodox game doesn't necessarily scream "franchise building block!" and his cause can only be hurt by the barren economy plaguing most of the NBA's franchises. On the other hand, despite his unorthodox means, Rondo proved at the end of last year (and again last night) that he's one of the most strangely effective players in the NBA, and ruthlessly efficient at that.

With the Celtics aging, signing the 23 year-old point guard--a position that the new NBA rules have made more valuable than ever--would provide some much-needed insurance for the future. Is it worth commiting a big salary, or will the Celtics be content to gamble, hoping that a conservative market leads Rondo to accept a more modest salary?

It's a complicated question--made moreso when you consider the damage Boston did to Rondo's psyche when they openly put him on the trading block earlier this summer. Whatever the answer, we should find out within the next few days what Danny Ainge and the Celtics plan to do.