Celtics' Ainge Not Pleased with Rondo

You wonder why the Boston Celtics are struggling?

Maybe it's because they allow their star player to go AWOL rather than play in a game.

That is apparently the case with Rajon Rondo. He was supposed to travel with the team to Sacramento, but instead, he decided to stay behind in LA and celebrate his birthday.

And did we forget to mention that he didn't ask the team if he could do this? Oh yeah, Rondo didn't feel the need to let the team know his plans for the evening. This definitely didn't sit well with the Celtics.

In particular, one former old-school Celtics player who didn't take too kindly to Rondo abandoning his teammates was Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, who made it clear to the Boston Herald that he and Rondo will have a 'come to Jesus' meeting about the incident.

“I plan on talking to Rondo when he gets back into town,” Ainge told the Herald. “I'll find out more about what went into it, and then we'll handle it internally. We handle all of those kind of issues internally.”

Can you imagine if this happened while Larry Bird was still with the Celtics? Or Bill Russell during his day? Rondo wouldn't see the light of day off that bench. That's what true leadership is about: standing firm with your team even if they're struggling.

The Celtics obviously have no real leaders if Rondo is allowed to take off when he wants. Both the players and coaches should jump on his case.

The Celtics should fine him and make him ride the pine for a little while, maybe the rest of the season to make a point. No one should be bigger than the team, no matter who he is.

And if Rondo thinks he'll be traded or getting a better deal, think again. You think he could roll up to the Lakers and do this? Not as long as Kobe is there. Kobe wouldn't let him take a play off, much less take a game off.

Rondo had best watch out before he ends up in Europe playing for a low division Turkish team, wishing he was back in Boston.