Peter May (TSN): More On Walker Trade etc....

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

              Boston Celtics
              Team Report posted                  
              November 28, 1998                    

              by tsn correspondent
              Peter May              
                                                     
              Throughout the no-end-in-sight      
              lockout, there has been one player
              whose name has come to symbolize the 
              "What, me worry?" attitude of the    
              players: the Celtics' Kenny            
              Anderson.
                                                    
              Anderson mentioned to The New York     
              Times a while back that he might   
              have to sell one of his eight cars
              if things got tight. He was joking, 
              but he became the butt of jokes     
              everywhere. Anderson was the perfec
              example of the pampered,             
              out-of-touch athlete who plays a    
              game that most people can't afford
              to see in person.                    

              Anderson's remarks gave uberagent   
              David Falk some work to do restoring       
              his client's image. Last Tuesday,
              there was Anderson, again the         
              centerpiece of a story in the Times. 
              This time the piece was about            
              Anderson's community work and his    
              donation of 400 turkeys to residents   
              of his old Queens neighborhood.        
                                                      
              The story noted it took only 90         
              minutes for the 400 turkeys to be        
              taken away. It will take a lot       
              longer for Anderson to restore his      
              image. But he told the Times that
              many of his friends were still           
              unaware of the original story         
              because, as he said, "a lot of my
              friends . . . read the New York Post   
              comics and look at the pictures."    
              . .                                    
                                                     
              Anderson is the biggest salary loser 
              on the Celtics for two reasons: He     
              is the highest-paid player on the    
              team at $5.845 million and he was        
              due to get his salary last summer in     
              one chunk.                               
                                                     
              This week, the players will miss
              another paycheck, but the Celtics     
              won't save a nickel on Anderson        
              because the Trail Blazers still pay      
              his salary. The Celtics are            
              committed to a shade under $19        
              million in payouts this season        
              (excluding Paul Pierce's salary) but
              still have to carry Anderson's         
              salary and the Dino Radja payout    
              ($2.5 million) on their team cap. .   
              . .                                  
                                                    
              There is still widespread belief  
              that Antoine Walker will be dealt as
              soon as the lockout ends. But it's     
              becoming increasingly irrelevant to     
              even discuss moves, given the status
              of the collective bargaining           
              negotiations. Walker is said to be     
              heading south to Miami for P.J.          
              Brown and Jamal Mashburn.              
                                                       
              If the deal is consummated, it would 
              reunite coach Rick Pitino with one    
              of his all-time favorite players.        
              Mashburn was Pitino's first big-time 
              recruit at Kentucky, and many feel     
              he put the stamp of approval on      
              Pitino's rebuilding program at       
              Lexington. Mashburn also is familiar   
              with Pitino's coaching style and     
              system, which he may not be all that   
              eager to experience now that he's      
              been in the league a few years.       
                                                
              Brown could have been a Celtic          
              coming out of Louisiana Tech; the      
              Celtics, needing frontcourt help in   
              the 1992 draft, considered him but     
              eventually took Jon Barry in the      
              first round. Brown ended up going to
              the Nets in the second round and has   
              been a solid NBA player ever since.