It’s unclear when point guard Rajon Rondo will take the court for the Bulls again. But a trade or buyout is not believed to be in his immediate future.

After Rondo received a DNP-CD in the Bulls’ New Year’s Eve loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, he told reporters that he was going to meet with Bulls management to discuss his future with the team. He didn’t rule out asking for a trade or a buyout if he got the sense the Bulls didn’t want to play him going forward.

However, a source with direct knowledge of the Saturday night meeting told The Athletic that Rondo wasn’t in any immediate danger of losing his spot on the team, as long as he stays professional and ready to play.

The feeling throughout the organization is that Rondo has been a positive off-court presence since signing with the Bulls in July, outside of an incident with assistant coach Jim Boylen during a Dec. 3 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Rondo was suspended for one game after that incident, missing the Dec. 5 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. At the time, Rondo’s teammates and coaches came to his defense, with Jimmy Butler calling him a “phenomenal damn teammate.”

Saturday night was Rondo’s first time not being in the starting lineup since his rookie season with the Boston Celtics, when he came off the bench during a March 31, 2007 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg opted to start Michael Carter-Williams at point guard, with Jerian Grant getting the backup minutes. Rondo’s benching came one day after he sat the entire second half of the Bulls’ Dec. 30 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

In a Christmas Day radio interview on 670 AM The Score, Bulls Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson suggested that the Bulls, who enter the new year with a 16-18 record and have lost eight of their last 11 games, could take a longer look at some of their younger players in the coming weeks. Giving the bulk of the point guard minutes to Carter-Williams and Grant, both of whom the Bulls traded for this offseason, would be one logical way to do that, even if it comes at the expense of Rondo.

Hoiberg was non-committal on Saturday night when asked how long Rondo’s benching would last, but praised the 10-year veteran point guard’s handling of the situation.

“We’ll continue to evaluate it, see what direction we go,” Hoiberg said. “He was great over there on the bench, cheering for guys, and being professional. We’ll see how it plays out and we’ll evaluate it again before the next one.”

When asked Saturday night how he would handle an extended benching, Rondo said he would do whatever he could to be helpful.

“I’ll continue to work,” Rondo said. “Play more one-on-one, take care of my body, lift, give these young guys as much advice as I can while I’m out there on the bench supporting them.”

Things can always change, as those who have followed Rondo’s career know well. His half-season with the Dallas Mavericks came to an unceremonious end in April 2015 when he was benched for the second half of Game 2 of Dallas’ first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets. He was dismissed from the team after that, with the official explanation being a back injury. Rondo’s teammates voted not to include him when distributing their playoff shares.

If Rondo stays on the bench for an extended period of time, he’s already made it clear that he’s not afraid to ask to be traded or released. But for now, it is believed that both sides are going to try to make their partnership work in Chicago.