Hit The Road, M.L....

[Michael Murray <michaelm@flex.com.au>]

BOSTON (Apr 21, 1997 - 17:02 EST) -- M.L. Carr coached the Boston Celtics to
the worst record in their 51 seasons. Now his job appears done.

He is expected to give up one or both of his positions, coach and director
of basketball operations, although general manager Jan Volk said Monday no
decisions have been made.

"That doesn't mean discussions haven't been undertaken," Volk said.
"Obviously, we've not been dealing in a vacuum."

The Boston Globe reported Monday that a decision already has been made for
Carr to give up both jobs, with Larry Bird possibly replacing him in the
front office. The newspaper, citing sources, said Carr would retain an
active role with the team, possibly in ownership.

"It's been decided by whom?" Celtics president Red Auerbach said Monday from
his office in Washington. "There's nothing I can even comment on until we meet."

The Globe also reported that the Celtics have decided on a front-office
replacement for Carr and it would not be a surprise for Bird, now a Celtics
special assistant, to take that job. The newspaper did not indicate who
might become coach.

"That's premature," Carr told the newspaper. "That's all I'm going to say."

The Celtics offices were closed Monday for Patriots Day, a state holiday.
Team owner Paul Gaston did not respond to a message.

"Paul Gaston and I are on the same page," Carr said after Sunday's 125-94
loss to the Toronto Raptors ended his second season as coach. "We have one
goal and we're not going to waver from it."

They've had talks already, he said. But Carr didn't directly address the
question of whether Gaston wanted him to return as coach for a third season.

Carr did say he was the right man to coach the team, and that was in keeping
with his eternally upbeat mood.

Now these are grim times for the Celtics, who can take some consolation in
holding the No. 1 pick in the June draft and earning a shot at Wake Forest
center Tim Duncan.

Carr also engineered a trade that brought Dallas' first-round draft choice,
another lottery pick, for center Eric Montross.

Boston's 15-67 record was the second worst in the NBA. Vancouver was 14-68
but cannot get the top pick in the draft lottery because of the expansion
agreement under which it entered the league last season.

Carr said after Sunday's game that he was going to the beach before
returning for organizational meetings. Volk said no meeting has been
scheduled but one could be arranged quickly.

"We will continue to have conversations over the next couple of days. We
don't put a timetable on it. We don't need to," he said. "We need to do it
the right way and not be artificially pressured to make a decision."

Bird, a Celtics special assistant, already has talked with Rick Pitino, who
said he doesn't want to leave as coach of Kentucky. The Celtics also may be
interested in Larry Brown, who said Sunday he will decide in 10 days whether
to remain coach of the Indiana Pacers.

Whoever coaches next season will take over a team with a glimmer of hope,
considering the draft position and the likely return of some of the many
injured players -- including Dino Radja and Dana Barros -- who missed much
of the season.

The Celtics had the NBA's worst defense, allowing the most points and
highest field goal percentage in the league.

They avoided becoming the first team to lose all its division games when
they beat Philadelphia on Friday to finish at 1-23 in Atlantic Division
games. And they tied the team record 13-game losing streak

"It's obvious how (horrible) they were. We all know that," said Auerbach,
who won nine NBA championships in his 16 seasons as Celtics coach. "But they
were competitive. I think they were only blown out about 10 times."

Given all the injuries, Carr had few options in shuffling personnel.

"Out of the first 10 men (Sunday), you only had (David) Wesley and (Antoine)
Walker," Auerbach said. "The rest of them were CBA (type) players, but they
were trying. Like I told them (Sunday) night at the breakup dinner, 'you
can't make chicken soup out of chicken feathers."'

He said that if the Celtics get two outstanding draft choices and sign a
quality veteran free agent, they could bounce back relatively quickly.

And whether he's coach, basketball boss or part owner, Carr still may be a
part of that.

"As decisions are made and, I suppose, implemented, we'll let everybody
know," Volk said. "But right now there's nothing to talk about because none
of those aspects have come together."


IT'S MY GAME - Australian Rugby League.

Cheers,

	Michael