With veterans Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett removed from the Celtics roster, it's now on to full-fledged roster rebuild for the Celtics.

Among players from that 2007 championship team only Rajon Rondo remains on the roster, thus making the sometimes controversial player the expected leader going into the upcoming season.

Despite his previous mishaps, Rondo remains to be one of the top point guards in the league averaging over 11 assists per game in each of the last three seasons and Boston, at least publicly, have stood by their guy.

Pierce, who is now with the Brooklyn Nets, spoke with the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn and said that it's his belief that Rondo is much more mature than people give him credit for and he's confident that he'll step into the leadership role for the Celtics moving forward.

"Without question [he can be the man in Boston]," Pierce said to the Globe. "I've already talked to Rajon; Rajon's mature. People talk about the relationship with Doc [Rivers], and they probably had their best years over the last two years. So I don't think that was a reason for Doc leaving. I've heard that, but that wasn't a reason for Doc not coming back.

"Rondo is one of the best players in the league. He's a guy who can be the face of a franchise. He's won a championship, he's been an All-Star. There's a lot of organizations who don't even have a face of that caliber.

"I definitely think he's matured and can handle a lot. I talked to him and he's ready for the challenge. He knows that it's his team. He knows he has to be a leader, and from being around me and Kevin [Garnett] and seeing how we work."

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