Rajon Rondo’s trade status and thorny nature are again the stuff of national speculation, and Danny Ainge isn’t surprised.

“It’s never stopped,” the Celtics president said yesterday after the latest wave hit with an ESPN.com report Wednesday.

Ainge was quick to insist Rondo’s most likely team following the March 15 trade deadline is the one that pays him now. He added that he is not currently trying to trade the point guard.

“I anticipate him being here for a long time,” said Ainge, who also derided reports that Rondo, who has butted heads with virtually every coach he’s ever had, now has a worsened relationship with Doc Rivers.

via Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald