Cancelling The Season - Celtics Plusses And Minusses

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

While it's still probably likely, there will be some type of NBA season,
doubts
are certainly visible and apparent.  It doesn't require a great deal of
logic,
to see the season being cancelled, and the next pro games being played
November 2, 1999.  Should the season be negated, I see the following
plusses
and minusses derived from a canceled schedule in regards to the Celtics:

Plus: Pervis Ellison will only have one year left on his Celtics
contract.

Minus: Pervis Ellison will have one year left on his Celtics contract.


Plus: Pitino won't be able to trade Antoine for Mashburn and Brown.

Minus: Antoine will sign as a free agent with Chicago.


Plus: The Celtics will be somewhere between $5 - $10 million under the
salary
      cap; certainly a greater amount then they have at the moment.

Minus: The rest of the NBA clubs will also have an exhorbitant
accumulation of
       money to overspend on free agents.  Many teams in fact, with a
much
       greater amount than Celtic Nation.


Plus: With two sets of free agents available, it will be a buyers'
market stuffed
      to the gills with quality and impact players.

Minus: The large number of available free agents will only encourage
Pitino to
       spend the money unwisely on middle-class types, much as he did
with the
       Travis Knight's, Andrew DeClerq's, Tony Massinburg's, Bruce
Bowen's;
       last season, rather than going out and signing one quality player
like
       Brian Grant.

Ray