Ellison's Agent Somewhat Upset With The Celtics

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

If Ellison is out for the year, the Celtics will have another cap slot
of $1.2 M. or so...


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

                                CELTICS NOTEBOOK
                                Returnees receive conditional approval

                                By Peter May and Michael Holley, Globe Staff, 01/12/99

                                WALTHAM - The good news was that no one showed up looking as though
                                he had been on the Shawn Kemp Exercise Program. The bad news is that
                                strength and conditioning coach Shaun Brown has one week to evaluate the
                                Celtics before Rick Pitino puts them through Parris Island North.

                                Brown saw seven Celtics yesterday at Brandeis for the first day of a week of
                                ''voluntary'' workouts. Players started with weights and the treadmill, then
                                hit the court for sprints and footwork drills. ''You gotta run,'' Brown
                                said.

                                First-day assessment? ''Not bad overall,'' Brown said.

                                ''We need to get as much as we can out of them,'' he said. ''But in five or
                                six days, how much can you get? Still, I'll take it.''

                                Brown said he will have a better gauge of the players' health on Thursday,
                                after a few days of workouts and drills. He is bringing them back slowly; a
                                footwork drill that normally goes 30 minutes was limited to 10 yesterday.
                                Even then, a few Celtics still looked winded.

                                ''I want them to have enough work to know that they're back, but also enough
                                to get them through the week,'' Brown said.

                                Brown was far from a pussycat, however.

                                ''When you've got someone screaming in your face, it's a little tougher,''
                                Travis Knight said.

                                But Knight was quick to note that when camp opens, things will be quite
                                different.

                                ''This was just an appetizer,'' he said.

                                More on the way

                                The seven Celtics who showed up were Knight, Dana Barros, Greg Minor ,
                                Andrew DeClercq , Paul Pierce , Kenny Anderson and Walter McCarty. The rest
                                of the crew is due in today, except for Antoine Walker, who is snowed in in
                                Chicago. Pervis Ellison is rehabbing in the Washington area and his agent,
                                Bill Strickland, said yesterday that Ellison quite possibly may indeed miss
                                the season, as Pitino suggested Friday. ''That was the scenario that the
                                surgeon gave to me,'' Strickland said. ''There could be a slight chance that
                                he could get back by the end of the season.'' Strickland is somewhat upset
                                that the Celtics did not do something sooner about Ellison's ankle. Ellison
                                sprained it more than a year ago and had to have surgery in November. ''I
                                was initially concerned,'' Strickland said. ''But my overall interest now is
                                getting Pervis healthy because I believe he can help the team.'' ... More
                                than a few players showed up yesterday without ID cards ... DeClercq walked
                                by reporters and held a finger to his lips. Told he needed to be
                                fan-friendly, he said, ''I am fan-friendly, I'm just not
                                reporter-friendly.'' That may be the best you'll get out of him all season
                                ... Knight revealed in a moment of weakness that the name of his new German
                                Shepherd puppy is Snoopy... Team security chief Grant Gray has lost 45
                                pounds and five pant sizes since accepting Pitino's challenge to lose
                                weight.

                                Can he play through?

                                It was a good offseason for John Connor, the director of team services. Many
                                remember Connor as the sweet-shooting man who battled Walker in pregame
                                shooting drills last season. He also is a 6-handicap golfer. During one
                                round last summer in Orlando, he found himself behind two decent golfers:
                                Tiger Woods and Mark O'Meara. He met the two pros and found out that O'Meara
                                is a Celtic fan. By the way, Woods and O'Meara shot 62 and 63, respectively,
                                that day. Connor? He checked in with a 69 ... Since McCarty last played
                                basketball (April 18), he has added weight and added an acting credit, too.
                                The thin forward put on 15 pounds of muscle. And he had a role in Spike
                                Lee's, ''He Got Game.'' ... Barros stayed in shape, partly, by playing
                                full-court basketball - at his house. He said he doesn't want to talk about
                                the players' lost income because, ''We all wind up looking greedy anyway. We
                                should just play instead of talking.''

                                This story ran on page E05 of the Boston Globe on 01/12/99.
                                © Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.