Celtics general manager Danny Ainge was asked if he was ever concerned that Rajon Rondo would be at all affected by the rumors that had the point guard potentially being swapped for Chris Paul.

“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. And that was it,” Ainge said. “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.”

As for Rondo’s league-best 10.7 assists per game, Ainge credits the point guard’s work ethic during the lockout.

“I think that that he was very motivated, we had received reports all summer how hard he was working this offseason,” said Ainge. “He showed up in great shape and he came out of the gates playing fantastic basketball for us, and he had a great training camp and he has the right mindset when he goes out on the court.”