Mercer's lack of value

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

I'm afraid Ron Mercer's not going to get us much. According to a 
report on this list, he's disgruntled and is blackmailing the 
Celtics: pay me what I want now or I walk away next year, in a 
manner such that you get nothing. He supposedly said that he will 
definitely leave if he is not given the extension and will not 
even agree to a sign and trade, which is spiteful - it hurts both 
the Celtics and himself. Now this could all be BS, and some might 
even suspect Pitino of planting it to make Ron look bad. Blackmail
is also a harsh term for this - it's really a pretty smart 
negotiating tactic, because otherwise the smart (and equally harsh)
thing for the Celtics to do would be to wait the year out and
show Mercer his market value the hard way.

The thing about guys in the '97 draft class like Mercer is that they
are now the worst values in the market. You can get an older, proven
star like Richmond for less, due to age; or a somewhat less talented 
veteran like Jim Jackson for the exception; or a draft pick for the 
new rookie contract. I'm hoping that Pitino can get something good
out of the situation - Mercer certainly has potential - but I think
expecting Vin Baker or any other All-Star for Mercer is probably
way too optimistic.

Alex