Re: This is the mentality of Celtics fans

["Jim Meninno" <jim_meninno@hotmail.com>]

>From: Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>
>
>And there is a precedent for a team getting nothing for a pretty good
>player with inflated contract demands - Golden State with Joe Smith.
>Smith was a #1 pick that didn't live up to expectations but was still
>a pretty solid player, better than Mercer at the same points in their
>career.

Joe Smith could just as easily be used as an example for Mercer about how 
much he has to lose if he plays this wrong.  Bottom line is that at the end 
of this year the few teams with any cap money will have better players to 
spend it on than Ron Mercer.  There will be plenty of teams willing to part 
with players that the Celtics can use for him in a sign-and-trade, though.  
If Ron wants to spite the Celtics it's going to cost him millions of 
dollars.

By the way.  What is the exact situation of post 1998 draftees like Pierce.  
The fourth year is a team option, yes?  At what salary?  And, the fifth year 
the team gets first refusal.  But, what if the player gets a long term 
offer.  Does the drafting team have to match the duration too?  I think you 
might still see teams like the Celtics signing players like Pierce after 
their third year, if that's allowed.

Jim


_______________________________________________________________
Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com