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Players the C's are looking at
- Subject: Players the C's are looking at
- From: "Julie H. and Shawn H." <hiraham@erols.com>
- Date: Fri, 11 Jul 1997 08:53:52 -0400
Abrams is hopeless.
Minor is clueless.
CELTICS NOTEBOOK
Bird watching, not game, was the
highlight
By Michael Holley, Globe Staff, 07/11/97
MARIETTA, Ga. - Supposedly, fans don't come to games
to watch the
coach. This is supposed to be a player's league. So
what to make of the
fuss over Larry Joe Bird?
Making his debut as Pacers coach, the Celtics legend
walked toward
his sideline seat at Life University last night and
received a standing
ovation. Television cameras tracked his initial path
to the bench.
Children and adults flocked to him, seeking
autographs. He declined.
You must understand, he is Coach Bird now. How often
do you see a
coach signing something before the game? It was a
mostly free
agent-rookie contest in which the Pacers beat the
Hawks, 88-75. It was
a humid summer night. It was un-NBA-like. But it was
still Bird's first
game as coach.
Don't expect the man to be quiet on the sideline. Two
minutes into the
game, he called Jalen Rose over and told the guard to
be assertive. He
yapped with the officials.
Coach Bird could face coach Rick Pitino tonight when
the Pacers face
the Celtics, bringing intrigue to these often dull
games.
Cavs get the jump
The Celtics lost the opener of their four-team
round-robin tournament to
the Cavaliers, 85-75. Many spectators at Life
University had joked that
the Celtics were the early favorites, since their
roster includes Dana
Barros, Greg Minor, and Eric Williams. Problem is,
none of those
players is a center. That would have helped, because
the Celtics were
pounded on the boards, 37-20.
The play of Barros and Williams was encouraging -
especially the
6-foot-8-inch Williams, who appears to be in terrific
shape. On one
play, he left Devin Davis landlocked with a spin move.
Williams finished
with 15 points in 32 minutes.
Minor looked lost. He began the game at small forward
and took only
two shots in 27 minutes. He missed both.
If he remains with the Celtics, Minor will be pressed
for minutes by
rookie Ron Mercer. He was a clear crowd favorite,
primarily because
he often went to the basket with style and finished
with 10 points. This is
how good things were for Mercer: He was cheered even
when he
missed a reverse layup that would have been nifty.
Danya Abrams had a forgettable night. In 16 minutes,
he totaled 4
points and five fouls. The forward from Boston College
seems to be
plagued by a classic NBA problem: too big to guard
small forwards; too
small to bang with the big guys.
Where's the star?
A television crew from Lexington, Ky., was in town to
record Pitino's
first game with the Celtics. Before the game, the crew
interviewed
former Wildcats Derek Anderson and Mercer. Only one
problem.
Pitino wasn't in the gym. He had an afternoon flight
to Atlanta (the rest
of the team departed Boston at 8 a.m.) and reportedly
went to the team
hotel trying to close the Dino Radja deal ... As for
Radja, the forward's
status remains the same. He's close to signing on with
Panathinaikos
AC, but nothing is official yet. ``I'm sure we'll be
able to work
something out soon,'' Celtics general manager Chris
Wallace said. ``I
can't put a timetable on it.'' Asked why the deal was
taking so long,
Wallace said, ``There are some t's and i's that need
to be crossed. From
my experience with international moves, it always
takes a little longer
than you think it should.'' When the Celtics free
themselves of Radja,
sources say they will quickly sign free agent forward
Derek Strong. The
6-8 Strong, a former Celtic, spent last s
ason with the Magic ... When the Celtics waive Radja,
they must wait
10 days for him to clear.
Fox crossed up?
Sources say Rick Fox is not happy with the Celtics.
Supposedly, the
club had a handshake deal with its former captain
worth $20-plus
million. But when they realized they could not sign
Fox and Travis
Knight, the Celtics renounced Fox and eight others and
signed Knight.
Was there a verbal agreement between the Celtics and
Fox? ``No,''
Wallace said. ``I will say that we didn't want to lose
him. But we didn't
want to lose the big guy, either. There was a heavy
recruiting battle
going on'' with the Lakers. ``And if he had left
Boston for the West,
there's a good chance he wouldn't be coming back
East.''
Minor appealing
Minor has decided to appeal the latest court decision
in Kentucky which
ordered him to pay $30,000 a month in child support to
the mother of
his three children. Attorneys for Minor, who will earn
$2.16 million this
season, filed the motion yesterday with the Kentucky
state court of
appeals. A hearing will be held Monday to determine if
Minor must post
bond during the appellate process. Minor had been
paying $2,000 a
month until the recent court order in March.
Meanwhile, yesterday's
appeal motion apparently did not stop the release of
more than $80,000
held in escrow since March. That amount is due to
arrive today in
Kentucky and is being sent to Celestyne Rowan, Minor's
former
girlfriend and the mother of the three children. Minor
speaks
occasionally to the children and is not involved with
Rowan anymore.
Earlier this year, he failed to go through on a real
estate deal, which
resulted in Rowan and the children being evicted from
their home. For
the last six weeks, she and the children have shared
one bedr
om in her mother's two-bedroom house in Louisville.
Peter May of the Globe staff contributed to this
report.
This story ran on page E02 of the Boston Globe on
07/11/97.
© Copyright 1997 Globe Newspaper Company.