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Peter May On The Celtics Continued Interest In Rodney Rogers; Shopping Ron Mercer; Toronto; Portsmouth Pre-Draft Tournament
Some great stuff from Peter May - Goodbye Ron Mercer, hello Rodney
Rogers...
[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Sports]
PRO BASKETBALL NOTES
Rapture for Raptors
Toronto joyful about making strides - and
winning games
By Peter May, Globe Correspondent,
04/04/99
The loss on
Opening Night
was seen as an upset.
The loss a month later
was, well, merely
surprising. In both
cases, the Celtics were
favored to beat Toronto
and didn't do it. They
were manhandled,
brutalized,
overpowered.
They'll be underdogs the next time.
Yes, your Toronto Raptors are raising
eyebrows and making strides, not to
mention winning games. They see the
Celtics Thursday night in Air Canada
Centre, where, entering the weekend, they
were 9-2 and in strong contention for a
playoff berth, unlike You Know Who. When
Rick Pitino says the Celtics are no
different from an expansion team, the
folks up north get upset. No one in
Toronto is making promises about next
year. They're getting it done now.
You look at the Raptors and you see a nice
mix of young and old as well as someone
who should warrant a spot on an MVP
ballot: Charles Oakley. Along with Kevin
Willis, and sky-walking rookie Vince
Carter, the Oak Man is responsible for
turning around this recently moribund
franchise. He has done the gray eminence
thing to a tee for the Raptors. (If you
think this is overstated, the phone number
for the Knicks is 212-465-6471.)
''I don't think people outside the sport
realize how big a thing it is to have a
veteran guy like Charles,'' said Dee
Brown, one of many ex-Celtics who does not
miss playing in Boston. ''It's big. I
remember when I was young and the older
guys held the team together while the
young guys played well one night or
another. That's what Oak does. You can't
find guys like that, who do the thing he
does. Maybe that crazy guy in LA [Dennis
Rodman] or Jayson Williams. It's like a
nose guard in football. You can't find
guys like that. They don't come around
anymore.''
Yes, and they also have Carter, who has
displaced Paul Pierce as the presumptive
Rookie of the Year. He's already got his
own jam section on the Raptors' web site
and, according to Brown, is an absolute
delight off the court as well.
''Vince has to be the most humble guy I've
ever met, the exact opposite of Antoine
[Walker],'' Brown said. ''He's having fun.
It's just so refreshing to see someone
still get excited. I remember when I used
to be like that.''
Brown has fit in nicely coming off the
bench. Last week, he erupted for a
franchise-record eight 3-pointers. (He
also holds the Boston record with eight.)
He's now closer in age and wisdom to
Oakley than to Carter; this is his ninth
season in the league.
''What's so nice here is that we are
creating history,'' he said. ''This team
has never even made the playoffs. It's
great to be in that position instead of
hearing `Havlicek Stole the Ball' all the
time. And they want me here. That's big.
It's the first time since my first years
in the league that individuals don't care
about their numbers as long as we win.''
Heading into the weekend, Toronto had the
eighth-best record in the East. Who would
have thought that after what we saw last
year and after the two exhibitions? But
they're for real. They've won in San
Antonio and at home against the Pacers.
When it was mentioned to team personnel
chief Bob Zuffelato that he had himself a
nice rookie, Zuffelato didn't hesitate.
''I like our rookie,'' he said. ''I also
like our team.''
Rogers a target
The proposed deal that would have sent
Tony Battie and Bruce Bowen to the
Clippers for Rodney Rogers was the real
thing. Both teams signed off on it. Then
the league stepped in and said ''whoa.''
The problem was that Battie could not be
traded with someone because he had been
traded within the previous two months. He
could have been traded even up for
someone, or for two players, but not with
someone. No one caught that technicality
and so the deal died. What has not died is
Pitino's interest in Rogers, who will be a
free agent this summer and has been on
Boston's wish list for some time. Pitino
has targeted a half-dozen players he
believes, for one reason or another, have
not played to expectations. Rogers, who is
finishing his fourth year with the
Clippers, is one of those lads. Plus, he
can score. But he's also had weight
problems - he was 40 pounds overweight
when he reported this year - and there
will be the ongoing question of how much a
veteran wants to play Pitino Ball. Plus,
the best the Celtics can offer is $2
million, unless they work a sign-and-trade
with LA. Before agreeing to the
Bowen/Battie package, sources said, the
Celtics wanted to make it an even swap for
Dana Barros, but the Clippers rejected
that ... While we're on the subject, it's
no secret that Ron Mercer's name was heard
in war rooms around the league before the
trade deadline. Depending on whom you talk
to, the Celtics were doing the calling
(most teams) or were getting the calls
(Boston's version). What did Mercer think?
''I have no control over that,'' he said.
''There are two ways of looking at it.
Either one team doesn't want you or a lot
of other teams do. I took it as a positive
- that a lot of teams wanted me, not that
the Celtics didn't want me.'' The Celtics
plan to offer Mercer what Pitino called
''a very substantial package'' as soon as
they are able. What does Mercer think?
''It's a business now,'' he said. ''I
understand that I can be traded. But at
the same time, I can also make a decision
to play where I want to play. I can't be
upset at them for trading me and they
can't be upset if I want to play somewhere
else.''
Pervis sighting
This just in from Bill Strickland, the
inimitable agent for Pervis Ellison:
''Pervis is alive and well - just like
Elvis.'' Given that Ellison still isn't
jogging, Strickland said, ''I think this
season is well beyond his reach. I've told
him to get as healthy and as strong as he
can and come back and help the team next
year. Hopefully, he could play another
three or four years.'' Strickland said he
actually could find work for Ellison - and
hinted that the places of employment were
not Yakima, Sioux City, or Rockford ...
<snip>
Few fringe benefits
Celtics general manager Chris Wallace just
returned from the Portsmouth Tournament
for fringe players and was unimpressed.
''It's probably as weak a field as I've
seen, and I've been to eight or nine,''
Wallace said. OK, OK. We get the drift.
But what about the gossip? Well, Wallace
says the skinny is that Baron Davis of
UCLA, Ron Artest of St. John's, UConn's
Richard Hamilton, possibly Elton Brand and
William Avery of Duke, and up to three
high schoolers will declare themselves
eligible for the draft. As for UConn's
Khalid El-Amin, Wallace said, ''He doesn't
pass the look test, but he makes plays.''
The top high school prospect is
6-foot-11-inch Jonathan Bender of
Picayune, La., who has committed to
Mississippi State but may decide to go
right to the NBA, where he could be a
lottery pick ... Then there's the strange
case of Bruno Sundov. He's the 7-2
Croatian who may be the first individual
ever to be drafted (Dallas, second round,
1998) and instead choose prep school (the
Winchendon School). Then he played in the
high school stud game during Final Four
weekend in St. Petersburg and came out of
it with a two-year contract from the
Mavericks. Talk about a guy getting the
most out of spring break. <snip>
This story ran on page D06 of the Boston
Globe on 04/04/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.
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