Jackie MacMullan On The Trade; Tom Heinsohn Too

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

Jackie on with Gerry Callahan and John Dennis on WEEI
this morning said the following:

- Denver received the most talented player in the deal - the person
with the most upside - Mercer

- Fortson is what he is: A rebounder - He'll never make the
All-Star team.

- She doesn't blame the Celtics for making the deal, since Pierce and
Mercer duplicate the position - Walker a little bit too, and the
Celtics need a center and a power forward.

- Jackie still says the Potapenko trade was a bad deal - He has
some good offensive skills but defensive liabilities.

- She thinks that Fortson will re-sign for a reasonable amount.

- She said Pitino is known around the NBA as "Trader Rick" and teams 
are wondering when he'll stick to Plan A or what Plan A is. Says
he is impulsive like all coaches, suggested he needs a Donnie Walsh
type to ease him away from making hasty decisions.

- Said Mercer was never one of Pitino's boys, and that Ron was upset
when the
fans booed Antoine and Pitino didn't back Antoine up...

Heinsohn was all happy about the deal - Said V will be one of the top
five
centers in the NBA - Fortson is a tough kid; the usual stuff from
Heinsohn.

Mark Cofman from the Herald was raving about Wayne Turner. Said he has
NBA
skills and a point guard's mentality - a perfect backup guard.