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Michael Holley On Nelson Still Wants Mercer; Lots of Deals This Month
Also Baker would like to play for the Celtics, but Payton wants no
part of Antoine, so a third team, other than the Bulls would have
to be involved, since they don't want Antoine either... Good article.
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[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Sports]
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PRO BASKETBALL NOTES
Ringing in an important month
By Michael Holley, Globe Columnist,
08/01/99
[Image]he phone calls will have some
timeliness today. Teams will no
longer have to say of trades, ''We'll talk
about it some more in August.''
Disconnecting itself from the last strand
of the lockout, the NBA will lift its
monthlong moratorium on trades and free
agent signings today.
In other words, get ready for Portland.
The Trail Blazers have called nearly
everyone with an NBA affiliation in the
past month. They are expected to pull off
one of the following deals in the next
several days:
Isaiah Rider and Jim Jackson to the Hawks
for Steve Smith.
The Hawks are serious about changing the
soul of their team. Trading the
30-year-old Smith, a previous winner of
the league's Citizenship Award, for Rider
and Jackson is proof. Who would come out
on top in such a deal? Depends on whom you
ask.
''I hope the trade goes through,''
Washington coach Gar Heard said. ''That
would mean we wouldn't have to see Steve
Smith in the East anymore. He's a tough
player.''
Indiana president Donnie Walsh said when
the Pacers don't have Derrick McKey and
are expected to stop Smith, ''We're in
trouble. I said before that he's the most
underrated player in the league. But he's
not underrated among his peers.''
Smith is good for 17 points, 4 rebounds, 4
assists, and above-80 percent free throw
shooting each night he steps on the floor.
But the 6-foot-8-inch guard has never
played a full season because of knee and
ankle injuries. In Rider and Jackson, the
Hawks would gain players in the final
years of their contracts. If things don't
work out with the new arena in San
Antonio, the Hawks could be one of the
teams to be in Tim Duncan bargaining
position in 2000 because they would be
under the salary cap. The Blazers would
have a terrific inside-outside team with
size with Smith, Rasheed Wallace, and
Brian Grant.
Jermaine O'Neal and Rider to the Magic;
Penny Hardaway to the Lakers; Glen Rice to
the Blazers.
This trade makes sense for no one but the
Magic, unless the Lakers are also
expecting Phil Jackson to make Shaquille
O'Neal and Penny buddies. A Damon
Stoudamire-Rice backcourt in Portland? And
although Rider and O'Neal would help the
Magic, word is that Doc Rivers would like
a chance to coach Hardaway rather than
sign him and trade him.
The Warriors, who already have acquired
Mookie Blaylock, say they have some
trading plans, too. Detlef Schrempf is
supposedly ready to sign with the Blazers.
And the Jonathan Bender-Antonio Davis deal
between the Raptors and Pacers is
official.
There still is a chance that free agent
Vin Baker may sign with someone other than
the Sonics, although it will be tough for
that team to be Boston. Baker is not
bluffing, though, when he says he'd like
to play for the Celtics. Any deal with
Baker would have to be a sign-and-trade
with another team, and it would most
likely have to be a three-way deal.
Chicago is out, because the Bulls
supposedly have said they are not
interested in acquiring Antoine Walker.
Even if Walker and Baker could be traded
straight-up, the Sonics wouldn't do it
because Gary Payton is opposed to playing
with Walker (although the two talk trash
to each other very well).
One thing is clear: Almost everyone thinks
they can win it.
''I think the East is wide open,'' Heard
said.
He's right. The Heat were last season's
top team, and they lost in the first round
of the playoffs.
In the West, the Blazers are obviously
trying to take over the fragile top of the
conference. The champion Spurs are
counting on a 34-year-old center (David
Robinson) with a history of back problems.
Their starting small forward, Sean
Elliott, has serious health issues. The
Lakers will be learning the triangle
offense; the Jazz and Rockets are old.
By the end of this week, we could be
looking at the busiest period since the
lockout ended in January.
Bench press
At the least, the Celtics will have a
dramatically different bench this season.
They have three free agents on their
roster - Bruce Bowen, Damon Jones , and
Eric Riley - and will re-sign none of
them. One of the replacements will be 6-5
swingman Adrian Griffin, whose contract
should become official today.
''He will be the most fundamentally sound
player on our roster,'' Celtics coach Rick
Pitino said.
The addition of Griffin helps, because the
Celtics are privately wondering if Greg
Minor (recovering from hip surgery) can
play again. If he can't, the team will try
to do some things with at least half of
his salary - a little more than $1 million
- while Griffin could expect to absorb his
minutes at backup shooting guard and small
forward. At power forward, Pitino is
interested in Dallas free agent Samaki
Walker, whom the coach says he worked out
last month in Texas. According to Pitino,
the 6-9 Walker is simply a candidate for
one of the Celtics's $2 million salary
slots. People in Dallas have different
ideas.
Mavericks officials insist that the teams
are discussing a sign-and-trade agreement
in which Walker and draft picks would be
sent to Boston in exchange for Ron Mercer
and another player.
''I don't know anything about that,''
Pitino said. ''And if anybody would know,
I would.'' But Don Nelson, who is not the
most popular man in the Southwest, said
the team will pursue the Mercer deal. He
should. Walker played 14 minutes per game
last season, averaging 6 points and 3.7
rebounds. His career high in games played
is 43. And his agent, former Laker and
Clipper Norm Nixon, put him in a position
of no leverage when he rejected a
four-year, $20 million offer from the Mavs
last season. Walker would love to have a
deal like that now. The Mavs were prepared
to lose the 260-pound forward for nothing;
now they see a possibility with a deal for
Mercer.
Even if that deal doesn't work, the
Celtics seem to have begun preparing for
Mercer's departure. One of their summer
objectives was to see if Paul Pierce, a
forward, could play shooting guard. They
came away from Los Angeles last month
confident that he could.
Not the next step
The Celtics swear they weren't dropping
any hints last week at UMass-Boston.
Before a few of their summer league games,
a green-clad ''Celtics dance team'' was
introduced. So, a dance team is coming?
The team says no. Just a summer gig for
some local dancers ... One of the visitors
at UMass-Boston was Boston native and
former Cleveland State coach Kevin Mackey.
He is now coaching the Trenton entry of
the International Basketball League. When
Mackey coached in the old US Basketball
League, one of his players was Griffin. He
says Celtics fans will like him ... Heard
was asked if he thought Mitch Richmond
would wind up playing somewhere else.
''No,'' Heard said. ''We may not sign him
[today], but we'll get it done.'' The
issues aren't so simple with the rest of
his rotation. Asked where he planned to
fit natural shooting guard Calbert Cheaney
into a mix with shooting guards Richmond
and rookie Richard ''Rip'' Hamilton, Heard
said, ''It's a good question. I've been
thinking about that for a while myself.''
Heard is certain about this: It might be a
good idea for Hamilton to work in the
weight room. ''He has to get stronger,''
he said. ''These guards in the East will
wear him down.'' Hamilton is listed at 185
pounds ... One of the controversial
subjects of the summer has been the
officials' interpretation of the league's
new rules. So far, there have been some
ugly games. The league has been trying to
cut down on gratuitous handchecking,
forearms on the backs of offensive
players, and unabashed grabbing. ''But
officials are going to have to realize
that you can't guard a guy without using
your hands,'' 76ers assistant Maurice
Cheeks said. ''If you can't use your hands
a little, guys in this league will go by
you. I know when I played, I couldn't
guard anyone without a little help.''
Another important factor to consider is
the officials who are currently calling
the fouls. There has been one regular NBA
official among each group of three for
summer games. Once the exhibition and
regular seasons begin, games probably will
not be called so tightly and literally by
full-time referees ... The Pacers tried to
get Bender onto their summer league team,
but since the deal is not official until
today, the NBA wouldn't allow it. Bender,
18, may be one of the few players who can
say he doesn't remember seeing Larry Bird
win a championship. He was 5 when the
Celtics won their last title in 1986. When
Bird won his first, in '81, Bender was
five months old ... The New York dailies
ripped 7-2 Knicks rookie Frederic Weis
after his 2-point, 1-rebound debut last
Monday. A silly Boston sportswriter said
that he couldn't play. Weis's agent, Frank
Catapano, insisted the following Wednesday
that the judgment had been made too
quickly. He made a good point; Weis looked
like a completely different player hours
later. Catapano explained that Weis had
back surgery in April and was playing his
first organized ball since then.
This story ran on page C03 of the Boston
Globe on 08/01/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.
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