[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Michael Holley: Celtics Guaranteed Contracts Piling Up/Walker Re-Signing
I guess the big news is the re-signing of Antoine Walker today...
[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Sports]
CELTICS NOTEBOOK
Contracts already piled up
It's a guarantee: Someone must go
By Michael Holley, Globe Staff, 01/21/99
WALTHAM - Since this is the first official day of training camp, the
annual question must be raised: Where are all these guys going to
play? Or, if you are Celtics chairman of the board Paul Gaston, you might
say it differently. Like: Some of these guys won't make the team, but I'll
still have to pay.
The Celtics go into camp knowing they will have to eat at least one
contract. Right now the consensus is that Dontae Jones will remain on their
books even if he has a slim chance of being on their bench. When rookie Paul
Pierce signs his contract and if free agent Michael Stewart joins the team,
that will leave the Celtics with 14 guaranteed contracts. They have roster
space for only 12 men. And let's just say that the Celtics discover that the
ubiquitous Dwayne Schintzius, who worked out here yesterday, can still play.
That could be 15 contracts.
The Celtics would love to make a deal enabling them to shed a contract. But
other teams are not foolish. They know a salary cap-clogging contract when
they see one and are likely to tell the Celtics, ''No thanks,'' when they
come calling trying to make a deal. So it is almost inevitable that when the
season starts next month, someone will be able to call himself a former
Celtic while still collecting current Celtic currency.
A little one-on-one
Antoine Walker's teammates were calling him ''Magic'' yesterday. It was a
reference to Magic Johnson, but not necessarily the most flattering
reference. The story is that Johnson likes to call an inordinate amount of
fouls when playing pickup ball in Los Angeles. Walker filled that role
nicely during an uninspiring shirts-and-skins game yesterday. But one of the
highlights was watching Walker and Pierce go head to head. Kenny Anderson,
who played with Pierce last summer, encouraged the rookie to isolate on
Walker and take him to the basket. Pierce did and was successful a few
times. Whenever that happened, Walker would come back on the rookie and
attempt to post him up ... Master P, the rapper who owns the agency that
represents Ron Mercer, is trying to hook on with the Mavericks ... The team
will hold a ''Meet The Celtics'' open practice at the Worcester Centrum next
Thursday from 7-9 p.m. The session is free, although there is a six-ticket
limit per person. Doors open at 6. Tickets can be picked up at the Centrum
box office as well as Worcester area Papa Gino's and D'Angelo's restaurants.
This story ran on page D04 of the Boston Globe on 01/21/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.
[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Sports]
Celtics will open by giving Walker six years, $71m
By Michael Holley, Globe Staff, 01/21/99
WALTHAM - At 2 p.m. today, they will no longer
be the Locked-Out Celtics, Shirts-and-Skins RELATED COVERAGE
Celtics, or Unofficial Celtics. They may be out of Lockout is over;
shape, but at least they are now official. So say deals begin today
hello to new Celtic Tony Battie. And give a wave to
Antoine Walker, an old Celtic with a new contract.
The NBA lockout is over. Finally. After nearly seven months. Ron Mercer had
joked that the delay between the unofficial end of the lockout and training
camp should be called ''Lockout II.'' Not anymore.
Basketball can now breathe freely on basketball courts after spending months
in boardrooms, suffocated by talks of proposals and counterproposals. But
before Rick Pitino can give his dusty whistle a good workout, he has one
more contractual issue to solve, albeit painless.
At some time today Pitino, the team's coach and president, will sit down
with Walker and sign the 6-foot-9-inch forward to a six-year contract
extension worth nearly $71 million.
When contacted last evening, Pitino would not comment on the specifics of
the agreement he reportedly has with Walker. But he did say that Walker
''will never have to worry about money again in his life.'' The coach, who
has known the 22-year-old Walker for six years, also didn't mind speculating
on the kind of player he can become in the next six years.
''He's 6-10, 6-9 1/2, and he has guard skills,'' Pitino said. ''I also think
that if he works on his body, he can absolutely punish people inside. That's
something we'll be looking for him to do, to work on his body. He has the
type of body that can hold 255 pounds of muscle.''
By the time Walker finishes the last year on his current contract and the
six years of his upcoming extension - which averages nearly $12 million per
season - he will be a month away from his 29th birthday. So if he were to
choose to play until age 35 (and to stay with the Celtics the entire time),
he would become Boston's all-time leader in seasons played. But that is news
for the next century. For this one, Pitino has a detailed plan for his
captain.
''Last year he shot 42 percent. This year we'd like to see that percentage
up to 47 or 48,'' the coach said. ''We'd also like to see him make about 74
percent of his free throws [he made 64 percent last season]. So those are
the goals right now.''
Walker has already established himself as a scorer/rebounder, averaging 20
points and nearly 10 boards per game in his two-season career. He also has
not missed a game.
Pitino knows that Walker will be on the Brandeis court today, scrimmaging
with his teammates. But as of last night, the coach did not know who all
those teammates would be. He knows Popeye Jones will be there. He knows
Travis Knight, traded to the Lakers for Battie, will not be there.
''I'm excited to be a Laker,'' Knight said yesterday from Los Angeles. The
7-footer will begin training camp today - in Santa Barbara, Calif. Pitino
knows Battie, the fifth pick in the 1997 draft, will be in Waltham. He still
is not sure about Michael Stewart.
Stewart and his agent, Bill Duffy, were here yesterday meeting with the
Celtics. The 6-10 free agent center toured the team's new training facility
and talked with Pitino and general manager Chris Wallace. ''We're in a
college-type recruiting situation right now,'' Pitino said. Very simply,
here's what that means for the Celtics: If Stewart is not practicing with
the team today at 2, that's not good. They want Stewart to give them an
answer before practice today.
The Toronto Raptors are also interested in acquiring the shot-blocking
Stewart. They hope the presence of Todd Bozeman helps their cause. Bozeman
is a Raptors scout who used to be Stewart's coach at the University of
California. Since the Raptors and Celtics will play two exhibition games
this month, there is a good chance you will see Stewart on the court with
many Celtics. No one is sure whether he'll be there blocking their shots or
trying to swat away the attempts of the Raptors.
This much is known: Stewart will not be returning to Sacramento. The Kings
have enough money to sign him but are choosing not to. Instead, they are
said to be pursuing free agent center Vlade Divac.
Whoever wears Celtic green-and-white today should prepare for an anxious
Pitino. He watched a ragged shirts-and-skins game yesterday and didn't say a
word. And that's not because he didn't want to. Since the league was still
in a lockout situation, coaches could not instruct players. That's not the
case anymore. Basketball is official again. The Celtics probably won't need
watches, clocks, and sundials to let them know the time. When they finally a
hear their coach's voice and whistle, they'll know it's time to play.
This story ran on page D01 of the Boston Globe on 01/21/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.