Some of the issues that have come to light - Rondo’s stubbornness, for instance - are traits that Rivers admires. “Yeah, stubbornness, ego, but those are good things too,” Rivers said. “We just have to manage him better, and he has to manage him better. I have to manage him better. There’s no doubt about that, but I’m not that concerned. “Being the point guard, he has a bigger role in that he has to get along with everyone on the team. That’s something he has to learn, and that’s difficult. With the personalities he has to deal with at his age . . . if he was 30 and had these issues, that would be a problem. At 24, I don’t see it being as much of a problem.” Boston Herald
And if Rondo is something of a loner where his locker room presence is concerned, then so be it, according to his coach. “You can be a loner as long as you’re not a loner on the floor,” Rivers said. “One thing I’ve told Rondo is that they don’t have to love you off the floor. They don’t have to respect you all the time, but they have to love playing with you. “He’s still working out how to be a great player, and sometimes there’s some growing pains. I have no problem with that.” Boston Herald
