Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said on The Big Show Thursday that point guard Rajon Rondo has been suspended for two games by the league for his actions in Wednesday night's altercation with the Nets.
Rondo was ejected from the game after shoving Kris Humphries in reaction to Humphries' foul on Kevin Garnett. Ainge said that he felt the punishment "may be a little bit excessive in my mind," and noted that the fact that the fracas spilled into the crowd may have had something to do with it. He added that though he found the punishment "disappointing" and "frustrating," the team likely will not appeal the league's decision.
Earlier in the day, Garnett said on Mut & Merloni that he wasn't surprised that Rondo responded in the way that he did because he has his teammates' backs, but Ainge insisted that Rondo's actions hurt the C's more than they helped.
"I think KG would appreciate that Rondo stood up for him, but that's not helping the team, and that's the objective," Ainge said. "Taking yourself out of the game, I don't think that's a fair tradeoff, Rondo for Kris Humphries. I don't think that's helping your team, and so ultimately that's what you have to do.
"I think that KG probably does appreciate it, and that's probably why KG sort of got back in there to try to help and rescue Rondo after because he knew that he had come to his defense. I just think you can't do it in today's [game]. In old-school basketball, you were able to do those things, but in today's day and age, you just can't do that, and hopefully this is just another learning experience, not just for Rajon, but for the whole team."
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