Rajon Rondo will return 'when I'm mentally ready'

There were plenty of highlights in Waltham from Boston Celtic's media day on Monday, but the most burning question had to be when Rajon Rondo would return to the court. Rondo has been out since January with an ACL tear, an injury that has proven tough to work back from in any sport. In the case of Derrick Rose, a torn ACL took away his 2012 post season as well as his 2012-13 campaign.

Rondo made it clear to the media that he has no intentions to try and rush back to the court. He kept his answers a bit vague, and was noncommittal towards putting a return date out there. Rondo did however say that "sometime in the winter" is when he plans to play his first game. At the moment, Rondo's exercise consists of stationary biking and some shooting drills.

"You want to feel confident... when I'm mentally ready, I'll play", says Rondo. As Celtics fans this is exactly what we should want to hear. As much as nobody was willing to admit it at media day, this is indeed a rebuilding year in Boston. Sure, the Celtics probably could rush Rondo back, play their veterans big minutes and sneak into one of the last spots in the post season... most likely to earn the right to be swept by an Eastern Conference powerhouse.

The longer Rondo sits, the more games Boston loses, upping the odds at a higher draft pick in a loaded 2014 class. The longer Rondo sits, the more room for improvement there is for Jeff Green as a leader, and the rest of the young core to develop as players. The longer Rondo sits, the healthier his knee gets. So please Rajon, take your time for the benefit of yourself and the good of the team.

H/T to CSNNE

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