Celtics’ Danny Ainge believes Rajon Rondo will Seek Max Contract

Rajon Rondo was traded for the very first time in his NBA career a few weeks ago. The point guard, who went from the Boston Celtics to the Dallas Mavericks, will enter free agency after this season and the Celtics' president of basketball operations Danny Ainge believes that Rajon will seek a max contract.

"This second half of the year is a very big one for Rajon," Ainge recently told ESPN.com's Jackie MacMullan. "Dallas is getting a player who is very motivated to prove he's a max guy."

Ainge added, "I'll miss Rajon, My job was easier than coaching him. I didn't deal so much with the ups and downs. When he sat down with me in my office, I got the Rondo who was listening - the humble Rajon who wanted to get better. I loved my time with him."

Rajon's future is still up in the air. His performance over the next few months will surely impact the type of contract he will get.

Rajon will return to Boston in Friday night's game. The 28-year-old stated, according to ESPN.com's Tim McMahon:

"Hopefully I won't be too emotional, try not to cry a little bit, but I'm very excited to go back. Those fans are amazing there. If I do [tear up], hopefully the camera isn't on me too much. I'm going to try to blink a lot...That's where I started. That's where I got molded. That's where everything happened for me. The best years are still ahead of me, but I was an All-Star four times, won a championship in Boston. I can't thank the fans enough...

Even when we were losing 18 in a row the first year, the fans still showed a lot of support. They came to every game. When I was out on the streets, they didn't kill me or heckle me. It was always supportive. They're true fans. They're not fair-weather fans, when you're losing, they're gone. They ride it out and be a Celtic for life."

In Rondo's first six games as a Maverick, he averaged 13.2 points with 7.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds. The Mavericks went 4-3.