Peter May: Travis Trade, Dontae Gone

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

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

                                CELTICS NOTEBOOK
                                Knight move may be in store

                                He could be traded to Lakers for Battie

                                By Peter May, Globe Staff, 01/19/99

                                WALTHAM - Travis Knight was one Celtic who was not at Brandeis
                                yesterday, and Rick Pitino said he didn't know why. The reason may
                                be that Knight is packing for the Coast.

                                Pitino is close to pulling the trigger on a deal that would send Knight, who
                                had a tough year last season, back to the Lakers and Shaquille O'Neal's
                                large shadow. In return, the Celtics would receive second-year
                                forward/center Tony Battie, the fifth player taken in the 1997 draft.

                                Asked about the swap, Pitino said he could not comment. Asked about Battie
                                in general, the coach noted that the team strongly considered drafting him
                                but went instead for Chauncey Billups.

                                ''He needs to get stronger defensively, but we like his potential for
                                shot-blocking, his athleticism, his running, and his low-post presence on
                                offense,'' Pitino said.

                                Battie had a horrible rookie season in Denver - GM Dan Issel referred to him
                                as ''El Busto'' - but the situation there was ridiculous. The Lakers got him
                                in the deal for Nick Van Exel. Battie makes slightly less than Knight
                                ($2.238 million to $2.4 million) but the two are close enough to make it an
                                even-up swap.

                                The deal would get Knight back to LA, where he had a surprisingly good
                                rookie season. Pitino shocked the hoop world when he signed Knight to a
                                seven-year, $22 million deal, one of his first personnel moves. Since then,
                                Knight's agent, Arn Tellem, has been devising ways to get Knight back to LA
                                as his client struggled for much of the year in Boston.

                                Games on tap

                                The first exhibition game against Toronto will be in SkyDome next Tuesday.
                                The teams also will play a game in Boston. No date has been announced, but
                                the original 1998-99 schedule had the Celtics and Raptors playing in Boston
                                Jan. 29 ... Pitino said there wasn't much substance to many of the three-way
                                and even four-way deals on the rumor mill. One had the Celtics getting Jamal
                                Mashburn and Vitaly Potapenko and losing Paul Pierce and Andrew DeClercq in
                                a four-wayer with Cleveland, Miami, and Golden State ... An update on the
                                Joneses: Dontae Jones is history. ''I don't believe Dontae will be on this
                                basketball team,'' Pitino said. ''Right now, I can't comment too much, but I
                                don't believe he will be here.'' Pitino is trying to cram Jones into a deal,
                                believing that his contract (one year left) will make him attractive. If
                                not, he may cut him. ''It would be a disruption to have him around,'' said
                                the coach, adding that he doesn't see a spot for Jones, who has not been to
                                any of the workouts. Attempts to reach Jones's agent yesterday were
                                unsuccessful. As for Popeye Jones, Pitino said there is no deal yet. Jones
                                left for home and may come back soon. If he does show up, that will mean he
                                has a deal with the Celtics. According to Pitino, Jones said he was planning
                                on coming back to Boston, ''but I wouldn't read anything into that.''
                                Popeye's agent, Jimmy Sexton, was not happy with the Celtics' first proposal
                                ... Several Celtics staged a public shirts/skins game at Brandeis, but
                                Pitino said he couldn't stand to watch. ''I'd rather play with my dog than
                                watch that,'' he said. ''It's nauseating. It's five guys on the perimeter,
                                playing one-on-one. No one reversing the ball. When the league mandated that
                                we couldn't watch, they were doing us a favor.'' A couple of NBA security
                                men were there yesterday to discuss with Pitino and general manager Chris
                                Wallace the do's and don'ts. The coaches are allowed to watch but not
                                allowed to communicate with the players.

                                This story ran on page C06 of the Boston Globe on 01/19/99.
                                © Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.