You can't pay for entertainment like this!

["Odegaard, Greg M." <GMOdegaa@rmc.com>]

Is this report on Gugliotta's signing great or what.  Kevin may not in
Boston, but once a Celtic always a Celtic.
And this after Jerry had done us such a big favor, by taking Trav off our
hands for us.
Later,
Ode

Tuesday, Jan. 26 8:59pm ET
McHale burns Lakers again
 <<...>> 
By Mitch Lawrence
Special to ESPN.com 
NEW YORK -- Now that the ink has dried on Tom Gugliotta's contract, it can
be reported that Googs' first choice wasn't Phoenix at all, but the rival
Lakers. 
Googs wanted to play alongside Shaqand the Lakers had every intention of
accommodating him. And why not? They were in love with the idea of bringing
in an accomplished frontcourt scorer to prevent defenses from continuing to
collapse on O'Neal. 
So now you know why Gugliotta left Phoenix last weekend without signing a
contract. He was still hopeful of ending up as a part of a deal with the
Lakers. 
"But (Minnesota vice president) Kevin McHale hammered every attempt the
Lakers made to do a deal,'' said one source with direct knowledge of the
Gugliotta saga. "The Lakers were definitely Tom's No. 1 choice.'' 
It's easy to see why. First off, Googs would have netted another $20 million
or so by virtue of a sign-and-trade deal. And the idea of playing alongside
Shaq was a major consideration, along with leaving small-market Minnesota
for the chance to play, and win, in L.A. 
But Googs' dreams of helping the Lakers win a title never had a chance.
McHale is no dummy. McHale did not want to aid the Lakers. And you can't
blame him (remember, McHale was a star with the Celtics, so you know he
doesn't like the Lakers). 
The last thing McHale should have done was help build the team he'll have to
compete with in the Western Conference. 
"He was just stringing the Lakers along,'' one source said. 
But that didn't keep the Lakers from trying. Up to the last minute, they
were telling Gugliotta to give them five more hours to swing the deal. But
once Googs realized the Lakers couldn't have made a deal unless they
included O'Neal, he finally decided to take the Suns' offer of $60 million.