[none]

["Belanger,Roger" <rbelange@foxboro.com>]

Here is some rehashed info. being served up by the Providence Journal
today for those who are interested. For those global Celtic fans not
familiar with the New England area, Providence, RI has a large Celtic
Fan base and is about 60 miles outside of Boston, MA. The Providence
Journal site can be accessed @ http://www.projo.com/.

Regards,

Roger S. Belanger
rbelange@foxboro.com


BILL REYNOLDS: Pundit ponders Celtics' options



The NBA draft is now less than two weeks away. So how's it shaping up?
Here's one man's opinion:



CELTICS:

Do you take two young players with the third and sixth pick and hope
that they will be good in three years, or do you use the picks to get a
proven commodity.? 

That's the question.

And don't be surprised if the Celtics choose the latter scenario. Some
of the names being tossed around are Sean Kemp, Vin Baker and Antonio
McDyess. Kemp, the most talented of the three, also has the most
baggage. He missed 22 days of training camp last year, and wants out of
Seattle. Look up spoiled young NBA star in the dictionary and you see a
picture of Sean Kemp. The flip side is he would give the Celtics a
proven star in the prime of his career, one of the top players in the
league.

Baker, who grew up in Connecticut, is on record saying he would like to
play for the Celtics. He is a power forward, who also could play a
little as the backup center. All that and a sold citizen, too. McDyess
is one of the highly regarded young big men in the league.

But how much do you give up for them?

Both picks? Antoine Walker and the sixth pick? The sixth pick and Eric
Williams? 

These are the questions the Celtics are grappling with.

The most likely scenario at this point?

The Celtics try for a young player with the third pick, and try to move
the sixth pick.



TOP 10 PICKS:

1. SAN ANTONIO

A no-brainer. The Spurs select Tim Duncan, the most dominant player in
the draft, and the only consensus choice in this draft to one day be a
great NBA player.

2. PHILADELPHIA 

Two weeks ago this also figured to be easy. The 76ers, in dire need of a
big man, were going to take Tony Battie, the 6-foot-11 center from Texas
Tech. Now? It's more complicated. The word is Larry Brown is looking at
Chauncey Billups, the point guard from the University of Colorado, whom
Denver covets with the No. 5 pick. Billups is emerging as the star of
this year's draft, someone whose reputation keeps rising.

3. BOSTON 

Billups if he's there, Utah forward Keith Van Horn if he's not. Unless,
of course, they trade both picks.

4. VANCOUVER 

The Grizzlies, in need of some veteran players, trades the pick and
moves down in the draft. 

5. DENVER 

The Nuggets love Billups, the local kid, but he will probably be gone.
In that case, look for them to take Battie, the best big man available.

6. BOSTON 

Trades the pick, coupling it with a high-priced veteran player -- Dino
Radja, Pervis Ellison, Dee Brown, etc. -- to give them more flexibility
under the salary cap.

7. NEW JERSEY 

The woeful Nets, who need help almost everywhere, go young with 6-foot-9
Tim Thomas, who left Villanova after only a year. Thomas is being
knocked for his questionable work ethic, but has world of ability and
he's from New Jersey to boot.

8. TORONTO 

The Raptors, who already have good young players in Damon Stoudamire and
Marcus Camby, opt for another in 6-foot-9 high schooler Tracy McGrady.

9. GOLDEN STATE 

The Warriors go big and take Adonal Foyle, the center from Colgate, who
three years ago was one of the most highly recruited high school players
in the country.

10. MILWAUKEE 

Kelvin Kato, the 6-foot-11 center from Iowa State. Another example that
the NBA loves big people.



GOD SHAMMGOD

Is Shammgod going to prove everyone wrong?

Maybe so.

When he first announced shortly after the season that he was thinking of
entering the NBA draft, the prevailing opinion was he was delusional.
Now Shammgod is being talked about as a possible late first-round
selection, and an almost-definite pick in the second round. The Knicks
supposedly are interested late in the first round, and there is a school
of thought that he will go higher than that.

So what if he's yet to prove he can hit two jumpers in a row? So what if
Shammgod failed to make any of the three Big East all-star teams at the
end of the year? So what if he had times last year when he played like a
young guard making bad decisions and trying to score too much?

None of that seems to matter.

In a pro game that's so now much about potential, Shammgod has helped
himself in the past couple of months. Especially at least week's draft
showcase in Chicago. His ability to get into the lane, plus his
athleticism, are making him stand out in a draft that has few quality
point guards. Maybe enough to get him into the first round, which brings
three years of guaranteed money.

The word is he's just about burned his last bridge at Providence
College. All along he's clung to the public posture that if he doesn't
like his draft position he will return to school. Not likely. His
spending the past semester working out in Connecticut has been too
public. As has his relationship with agent Eric Fleischer, regardless of
whether he actually signed a contract or not. Shammgod coming back to PC
would be a public-relations nightmare.

But it's appearing more and more like all that might be irrelevant.