Steve Bulpett: Celtics Have $1.7 M. To Sign A Free Agent, Teams have Enquired About Knight...

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

Correction: It looks like the C's will be playing four games in the
Fleet 
Center in February: 2/5, 2/6, and two other February dates....

What Bulpett had to say (Non-Web Posted Yet):

Cap Space - The Celtics will have two exceptions: One for $1.75 M. and
the 
other at $1 M.  So, they're not exactly going to be big bidders in the
coming
free agency pool.  Bulpett thinks that leaves Geiger out, but the C's
may be
interested in Michael Stewart or Loy Vaught.  He says, the C's could
hope that
someone like Ike Austin falls through the "cracks", because with "teams 
scrambling for free agents in a shortened signing period, someone is
bound
to be left standing in what will be a frenzied game of musical chairs."

Travis Knight - Clubs have called about Knight, but have backed off in
their
interest at the moment, because the other teams are trying to keep their
cap
space liquid.

Future deals - After the free agent frenzy simmers down, the C's may be
able
to move a couple of players, and as Bulpett suggests: "the end of a
couple
of contracts this summer could combine to give them a strong stake with
free 
agents... The salary cap will be rising to $34 million for next year...
and
with teams loading up on the available ones now, there might well be
less
competition for the plums when the next crop comes up."

Wait on signing Walker - Bulpett thinks the C's should let Antoine
become a
free agent and then re-sign him.  Why?  It would allow the team to sign
a
free agent, and then "go over the cap to ink Walker."  Right now, the
C's
can offer Walker a six year contract, if they wait till he becomes a 
free agent, they can offer him a 7 year deal.  However, Bulpett says
Walker
will only want to sign for four years this summer, so when he becomes a
free agent in 2003, he'll be slotted in the 7 - 9 range, and receive a
higher contract.
Ray 

Popeye Jones - He's seeing his doctor Tuesday, and if he's physically
healthy
and does not want much more than his previous salary of $1.8 M., the C's
may sign him.