Rajon Rondo responded to speculation he intends to test free agency when his contract with the Boston Celtics is up in 2015, saying, "I may want to go through it."

Rondo added he is intrigued by the wooing process that happens for free agents.

"It’s kind of like college recruiting," Rondo said on Friday. "I’m pretty sure a lot more goes into it in the NBA. A lot more money is spent. I’ve heard stories, guys getting called right at midnight. It’s something that I haven’t experienced. I may want to go through it. I haven’t thought about it at all."

Rondo's contract, a five-year extension worth $55 million that he signed in the fall of 2009, is up after next season. The Celtics have discussed a potential contract extension with Rondo.

Rondo is adamant he has not thought about free agency.

"I haven’t thought about it," Rondo said. "I’ve just thought about getting my leg as strong as possible, continue to shake off the rust this year and come back even better next."

The Boston Celtics have assigned center Vitor Faverani and guard Vander Blue to the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League.

Faverani has appeared in 37 games for the Celtics this season and has recorded 4.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 13.2 minutes per game.

Blue has appeared in three games for the Celtics this season and has totaled five points, three rebounds and an assist in 15 minutes of play.

Jared Sullinger starred with 24 points and 17 rebounds in the Boston Celtics’ last-second loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, but he had been in a mini-slump as of late.

Sullinger, who was selected for the Rising Stars Challenge earlier on Wednesday, had a combined 16 points and 12 rebounds in the three games before Wednesday night. He is averaging 12.5 points and 7.6 boards per game in his second NBA season. Sullinger is shooting just 37.4 percent from the field in January after hitting 48.7 percent of his attempts in November and 42.9 percent in December. He has been dealing with hand and wrist injuries as of late.

Brad Stevens felt the need to sit down with Sullinger this week to discuss the struggles, while also asking him to take on a bigger role with the rebuilding club.

"First of all, I did say ‘Hey, I realize you are playing through the hand and the finger.’ He’s a tough guy, who wants to play and likes to play. I value that and think highly of him for that," Stevens said.

"One of the things that I just challenged him on was not having to accept being a 22-year-old in the league. We are in a unique situation in that we are asking some of our young guys to be leaders and more vocal in their approach. My talking point with him was, we know you are 22 but you are a mature basketball player and you know the game. For our team to grow we need you to play and be a few years ahead of where you are. It’s not fair to him, but it’s a great opportunity for him.”

The Boston Celtics announced have signed guard/forward Chris Johnson to a second 10-day contract. 

Johnson, a 6’6” guard/forward, has appeared in four games for the Celtics and has averaged 10.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 assist in 26.6 minutes per game. He posted a career-high 12 points against Brooklyn on January 26 and recorded a career-high four steals against Washington on January 22. Johnson originally signed a 10-day contract with the Celtics on January 17 after he had appeared in 20 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League where he had averaged 19.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.0 block in 37.2 minutes per game.

Paul Pierce returned to Boston on Sunday night to face his longtime former team, the Celtics, and admitted the game created much more emotion beyond his statistical output showed (six points on two of 10 shooting).

"This was the toughest game I've ever had to play," Pierce conceded. "Tougher than any championship, tougher than any Game 7."

Pierce became emotional during the Celtics' video tribute and in the postgame locker room. The Celtics traded Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Brooklyn Nets in the offseason.

"I loved it here," Pierce said before the game. "Never wanted to leave."

The Boston Celtics have recalled center Vitor Faverani from their NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws.

Faverani, a 6’11” center, appeared in one game for the Red Claws while he was on assignment against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on January 25 and recorded 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a block in just under 26 minutes of action.

The Boston Celtics have assigned center Vitor Faverani to their NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws.

"This is just a quick assignment to get Vitor some more game action," Danny Ainge said in a statement. "He'll be back with the Celtics for shootaround tomorrow morning. This is a great option for any Celtics player to get more in-game experience without missing any Celtics activities, and we expect there will be more of this type of assignment for Celtics players during the remainder of the season."

Faverani has averaged 4.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.77 blocks in 13.4 minutes per game for the Celtics this season.

Danny Ainge revealed on Thursday that the Boston Celtics held discussions with Rajon Rondo about a contract extension, adding the team still plans to keep the All-Star guard.

“We did talk to Rondo about extending him,” Ainge said. “But that’s all part of the negotiation that will happen again this summer and most likely the summer after. I don’t know [if he will sign an extension], time will tell.”

“In the Collective Bargaining Agreement, there are limits on what can and can’t be done. Really it’s not that Rondo doesn’t want to accept an extension, but it’s just not financially smart for him to accept it right now. We didn’t think he would [sign], but we did tried.”

Ainge believes Rondo will receive "star money."

After a strong start to the season, the Boston Celtics have lost 15 of 17 games.

Danny Ainge has maintained that the franchise would focus on their long-term outlook this season.

“The losing is not as hard to take as what I don’t like to see happen is the losing of one’s spirit and passion for the game,” Ainge said when asked about the recent losing. “And the game is easy to play when you’re winning and you don’t even have to put forth your best effort every night because your team is so talented. But when the losing causes people to lose their spirit, that’s really hard. That’s a tough thing to take. Some of the best players, that’s happened to. But so far I like watching our team play. I enjoy it. I enjoy the competitive fire they have, I like that fact there’s some that have maintained the spirit of winning and they prepare to win and continue to prepare to get better.”

Ainge didn’t offer optimism about discovering the next franchise-changing player.

“We have a lot of options and a lot of assets to maneuver within the draft itself. Yes, the draft is exciting, but I’m not really thinking that much about the draft and yet every day I’m watching all the players that are in the draft, so I guess indirectly I am,” he said.

“We’ve done some good things and not-so good things and learned from some of our mistakes. There’s always risks when you’re making deals and most deals benefit both teams based on needs and short-term and long-term objectives, but it’s not easy to find partners that sort of fill those. I respect all the teams in the league and there’s only a certain amount of really good players in the league.

“There’s only a certain amount of difference-makers.”

The Boston Celtics will sign Vander Blue to a 10-day contract.

Blue scored 35 points in a D-League game on Monday.

The Celtics lost Bradley to a sprained ankle on Tuesday, while Jerryd Bayless could miss several games with a toe injury.

Rajon Rondo remains on a minutes restriction.