Why Rajon Rondo Considered Trade From Celtics Amid Rookie Year

Rajon Rondo had a memorable nine-year run with the Boston Celtics.

But, as the story goes, Rondo nearly fled Boston after just one season, which obviously would've altered history, including the team's 2008 title.

The reasoning was simple. After Boston drafted Rondo out of Kentucky with the 21st overall selection in 2006, the Celtics were atrocious. They finished 24-58 to sit rock bottom in the Eastern Conference, which didn't help their cause in the Kevin Durant draft sweepstakes either -- Boston selected fifth and took Jeff Green.

Therefore, Rondo, who was 20 years old at the time, wasn't impressed.

"Coming from Kentucky, I wasn't accustomed to losing like this," Rondo explained on JJ Redick's "Old Man and the Three" podcast. "I wanted to help the team so every day in practice I would bust my butt, try to figure it out and still wasn't producing in the game or wasn't getting the chance to produce in a game. I was asking for a trade."

During his two-year stay in Kentucky, Rondo and the Wildcats went 50-19 but failed to reach the Final Four.

But in the NBA, Rondo struggled out the gate, fueling the inner stubbornness that nearly sabotaged his run in Boston. He averaged just 6.4 points with 3.8 assists, shooting 41.8% from the field in 23.5 minutes a night.

Nevertheless, in not getting traded away from the Celtics, Rondo quickly reaped the benefit of sticking by the process.

Danny Ainge, who was Boston's general manager at the time, hit the drawing board and pulled off an offseason to remember, acquiring both Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. That surrounded team leader Paul Pierce and Rondo, the floor general, with enough to change Rondo's view of the team and birth a "Big Three" trio that raised Banner 17.

"Luckily, I didn't go and I was fortunate enough to stay there," Rondo added. "Going into that summer, I just wanted to work my butt off, try to get better each day, talking to a lot of different players and mentors about how to be a better player and how to be a leader at such a young age. I would try to win those guys over."

In a Celtics uniform, Rondo finished a four-time All-Star and second all-time in assists (4,474), behind only Larry Bird (5,695), before shipping out of Boston in 2014.