Michael Holley's NBA Notes

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                                [The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
                                [Boston Globe Online / Sports]

                       
                                PRO BASKETBALL NOTES
                                Quick hand performs Magic transformation

                                By Michael Holley, Globe Staff, 08/15/99
                                <snips>
                                 
                                Minor discrepancy

                                There had been some private talk among the
                                Celtics that Greg Minor's career could be
                                over. His agent, Dan Fegan, said that is
                                not the case. ''He's got a long way to go
                                in coming back,'' Fegan said, ''but
                                there's absolutely no way his career is
                                over.'' If Minor were out indefinitely,
                                the Celtics would be eligible for some
                                salary cap relief. Minor suffered a severe
                                hip injury last April in a game at Miami
                                ... Another Celtic issue involves the
                                stinging words agent Tevester Scott
                                directed at Rick Pitino. Scott, the agent
                                for Ron Mercer, has said repeatedly that
                                the coach was dishonest in his dealings
                                with Mercer. According to Mercer's camp,
                                the Celtics caused the entire
                                Mercer-not-reporting-to-Denver episode.
                                After learning of the trade to the
                                Nuggets, Mercer says he was told by the
                                Celtics that Denver was going to give him
                                a six-year contract extension and sign him
                                to the maximum allowed, $73 million.
                                Mercer relayed that news to some friends.
                                But when he spoke with the Nuggets, they
                                didn't know what he was talking about;
                                they said there would be no offer until
                                the end of the year. Scott also blasted
                                Pitino for agreeing to trade Mercer
                                somewhere other than Denver. Pitino said
                                Scott is ''an inexperienced agent'' who
                                might not know the difference between
                                Pitino's voice and that of general manager
                                Chris Wallace. ''Maybe he doesn't know a
                                West Virginia accent from a Northeast
                                accent,'' said Pitino, emphasizing that he
                                has talked with the agent only once and
                                that Wallace negotiated with him. ''Maybe
                                this is a case of mistaken identity. Maybe
                                he doesn't know who he's talking to. And
                                if that's the case, we have a deeper
                                problem than we thought.'' ... One of the
                                themes of the post-Aug. 1 signing/trading
                                period has been ''misunderstanding.''
                                Gabriel said, ''The thing that has
                                disappointed me is the amount of guys who
                                agree to contracts and then go somewhere
                                else. I'm not singling anybody out, but if
                                you can't take someone's word for
                                something, what are you going to do? How
                                can you do business?'' Gabriel said he
                                heard that the Celtics' Calbert Cheaney
                                originally agreed to sign with Miami
                                before signing a three-year, $6.6 million
                                deal with Boston. There was also Dell
                                Curry agreeing - twice - to re-sign with
                                the Bucks before going to Toronto.

                              
                                It's better the second time around

                                Eric Williams was asked about being traded
                                back to Boston. ''It's like all the old
                                wounds are healed now that I'm back,'' he
                                said. When Williams was traded two years
                                ago, Pitino said the forward couldn't play
                                for him ... The NBA's rule-changes
                                committee took part in a conference call
                                last Thursday. There were several
                                complaints about officials'
                                interpretations of impeding progress and
                                forearm checking during summer play. ''The
                                game needs changes and you will see
                                them,'' said Colangelo, a member of the
                                committee. ''What we are talking about
                                right now is fine-tuning some things.''
                                One thing everyone should remember,
                                Colangelo said, is ''coaches, officials
                                and players will adjust to whatever the
                                rules are.'' ... The Cavaliers think
                                first-round pick Andre Miller can take the
                                starting point guard job from Brevin
                                Knight... When Dale Davis said he was not
                                willing to play in Boston, it was nothing
                                personal. The 6-11 forward is 30 and
                                doesn't want to play in a Pitino system.
                                He expressed his feelings after hearing
                                rumors that he was going to the Celtics in
                                a deal involving Antoine Walker... Pitino
                                said he wants the Celtics to be tougher.
                                If that's the case, he'll be pleased with
                                Eric Washington. The 6-4 guard actually
                                spent some time at power forward during
                                his last season at Alabama. Washington
                                also is known as a very good shot-blocker
                                for a guard ..

                                This story ran on page E08 of the Boston
                                Globe on 08/15/99.
                                © Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.

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