Kobe Bryant recently had breakfast with Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo, but the Los Angeles Lakers superstar denied that he tried to recruit Rondo on Thursday.

Bryant confirmed that he had breakfast with Rondo at The Paramount in Beacon Hill, but he said that they just talked about things related to their championship matchups in 2008 and 2010, denying rumors that he tried to convince the All-Star playmaker to join him in Los Angeles.

"We just talked about the game, we talked about the league," Bryant said via ESPN Los Angeles. "We talked about good old memories of playing in the series against each other, stuff like that -- different strategies and things they tried to do against us and things we tried to do against them. It was a basketball geek conversation."

Bryant has praised the Celtics superstar in numerous occasions, and the 16-time All-Star did the same thing on Friday after Rondo led Boston to a 113-96 win against the Lakers, where the 28-year-old point guard finished with 12 points and 16 assists to go along with eight rebounds.

"Extremely intelligent. Very, very smart. Prepares very well, and he understands the deeper [subtleties] of the game," Bryant said of Rondo. "I just never really understood how a guy that size could get 17, 20 rebounds. I still don't really understand that. It's unbelievable."

Rondo, who is averaging 8.6 points to go along with 11.3 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game this season, will become a free agent next summer. Sources said that the former Kentucky standout will consider all options when he hits free agency.

The Lakers, who have been desperately chasing a superstar to pair up with Bryant, have no ongoing discussion with the Celtics about Rondo, but Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles reported that the two teams talked about a possible deal last summer.

Shelburne added that the Lakers, who are currently 14th in the Western Conference standings with their 5-15 record, are reportedly planning to make a strong push to sign Rondo when he hits free agency after this season.

The Lakers and Celtics might also re-engage in talks about Rondo before the trade deadline, but Los Angeles are still unwilling to part ways with a first-round pick, knowing that they could acquire the nine-year veteran without giving up any asset next summer.

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