Mercer holding out?

[peter delevett <pdelevett@amcity.com>]

Nice job, Ron. You're really making yourself look good - great advice you're
getting from your agent.


DENVER -- One day after being acquired from the Boston Celtics, along with
Popeye Jones and
                          Dwayne Schintzius, Ron Mercer was a no-show
Wednesday for a news conference with his new
                          employers, the Denver Nuggets.

                          "Ron Mercer will not be here and we have learned
that somebody told Mercer in Boston yesterday
                          that we had already agreed to extend his contract,"
Denver general manager Dan Issel said. "We
                          had no prior conversations with Ron or his agent."

                          Mercer, who will be in the final year of a contract
that expires at the end of the 1999-2000 season,
                          reportedly said Tuesday that he would not come to
Denver until a contract extension was offered.

                          A Boston Globe story said the Nuggets were prepared
to offer the player a six-year extension.

                          "I think he was disappointed and I think that is why
he is not here," Issel said. "He was under the
                          impression there was going to be an extension when
he got here."

                          Issel denied making such an offer, adding that no
deal would be discussed until the end of the
                          season.

                          "We will wait until the end of next year and if he
has a great year, it is going to cost us more
                          money," Issel said. "If somebody else comes in and
signs him away from us, then that is one of
                          the chances we take. We are aren't going to do an extension."

[I wish Pitino had had the sack to say something like this. But again, I don't
think Rick was afraid of losing Ron, I think he didn't want him.]

                          But Issel said he wasn't worried that Mercer
wouldn't show up. He said he felt better after talking
                          with him earlier in the day.

                          "It is our understanding that he will be in here to
take his physical and the trade will be
                          consummated," Issel said.

[Yipes! What if Mercer scuttled this deal and then bolted the Celtics? It's a
drastic scenario, but could he really screw us like that?]

                          Issel said the Mercer case reminded him of the
situation the Sacramento Kings went through a year
                          ago after obtaining Chris Webber from the Washington Wizards.

                          "There were questions all summer long: was he going
to show up, was he going to play with
                          Sacramento?" Issel said. "And he wound up being
second team all-NBA."

                          The Celtics began shopping the 6-foot-7 Mercer last
month after discovering how far apart they
                          were on his new contract demands. Mercer, who
averaged a career-high 17 points for Boston last
                          season, can be a free agent next year, and indicated
he wouldn't re-sign with Boston if he wasn't
                          given an extension this summer.