Still a rough road for Powe

WALTHAM - The guarantees come slowly for Leon Powe.

One was in July for $150,000 for being on the Celtics' roster at the first of the month. The other came a couple weeks back when the number went up to $200,000 for being on the team Oct. 1.

The three-year deal he signed after being taken by the Nuggets with the 49th selection in the 2006 draft and traded to the Celtics still feels more like 1,095 individual days.

For instance, there was the "DNP, Coach's decision" Powe received in Europe when Boston played Toronto in the preseason, although coach Doc Rivers said it was nothing major.

"I just wanted to see some of the other guys," said Rivers, who still has to work out the roles for Glen Davis and Esteban Batista, among others. "I love Leon, so Leon's going to be here."

Powe could have done some things last year to guarantee his stay (make the All-Rookie team, or play half the games and have his averages for points, rebounds, and assists total 14). This season the forward will have to continue to do the things that made Rivers a fan last year: rebounding, setting picks, and giving fouls.

"He's gotta be who he is, and he is a physical player," Rivers said. "Last year there were games where he'd play 20 minutes and have zero fouls, and you think that's almost impossible for a guy that plays the way he plays."

Powe said, "Every day I go out, I give it my all like it's my last day on the court, and I feel like I always have to do that. I just gotta come out here and constantly show that I belong here and I want to be here and I want to come out here and work."

Powe isn't starving; last year he earned $432,000, and this year he could earn $687,456. But then what?

The majority of the second-rounders in Powe's draft class are still in the league. But go back three seasons - the span of the average rookie contract - and only seven of the 30 second-rounders in the 2004 draft are still in the league. And with the exception of Cleveland's Anderson Varejao, none is with his original team.

Getting in the league is one thing. Staying is another.

"It should be," Rivers said. "All the young guys - even the ones with the one- or two-year guarantee - they haven't made a career yet. So they all should come out like every game's their last game. The old-fashioned way. Only the chosen ones, the ones in the top five or six, get that big deal and then usually get that extension before they've even proven themselves. Other than that, everyone has to prove themselves, and that's the way it should be."

Even if Powe's contact situation were different, Celtics basketball boss Danny Ainge said it wouldn't affect Powe on the court.

"I think Leon, if he had six years guaranteed, it wouldn't change the way he played," Ainge said. "He's a hungry player."

Powe said he doesn't let the details of his contract cloud his thoughts during the season.

"Hopefully, everything will work itself [out]," he said. "I'm not looking ahead and I'm not looking back. I'm just looking at what's in front of me."

Open to suggestion

Rajon Rondo isn't really stressing about that 18-foot jump shot. A pass-first point guard when he wasn't surrounded by All-Stars, Rondo is nowadays even more inclined to pass than shoot.

Last season, Rondo shot just 41.8 percent, but he had a knack for getting to the cup, which Rivers said the second-year guard should keep up.

"It's like I told him about Tony Parker and all the guards who started off with questionable shots," Rivers said. "Tony Parker takes 200, 300 shots a day probably, working on it. And I told him, 'How many of those does he take in a game? One? Maybe two? He's still going to do what he does.' And that's what I try to keep in Rajon's head. You keep doing what you do. Get to the basket."

Rondo said he hasn't made it a point to pull the trigger more.

"It's just when those guys create open shots, I've just got to take them," he said.

Paul Pierce's court time with Rondo was limited last year because of an injury, but from what he's seen this season, Pierce is impressed.

"His work ethic is on a whole other level," Pierce said. "Then his confidence just being out with us every day, you see him growing each and every day. He knows what he wants to do out there.

"There's a lot more pressure on him this year than last year, but he's working hard. He's taking everything in stride, and you can see it in him every day [that] he wants to get better."

Center of attention

What you're not likely to see this season is Batista hanging out around the perimeter. Pierce and Dahntay Jones spent a few minutes after practice breaking down the 6-foot-10-inch, 268-pound center in a sort of three-way one-on-one game with Pierce often attempting to hit Batista with a crossover ("I don't want to hurt your ankles," Pierce said) and Jones draining fadeaways in the face of Batista, who is holding out hope of making the team. "I'm not a shooter," he said. "I'm a role-player. I get rebounds and I run the floor. That's it." . . . James Posey shot for another hour after practice . . . Rivers ribbed Davis a little after practice, commenting on the growth he's seen in the rookie from Louisiana State. "I think he's gone from a 40 waist to a 42 waist," Rivers said. "So I think he's been growing tremendously so far." Davis had committed to losing weight around draft time. There is still the possibility of Davis landing in the Development League. "He's got a lot of talent. He's improving every day, obviously," said Rivers. "He's got a lot of talent. He's going to have to learn how to work harder and better every day, and he's doing that. But he's got a long way to go."

Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com