Holley on trade

[DJessen33@aol.com]

I don't like this. We need more than just a no. 5 pick. It at least has to be 
the 5 and the 12 pick.

<CELTICS NOTEBOOK
Pitino not bullish on 3-way deal 



By Michael Holley, Globe Staff, 06/10/99 



NDIANAPOLIS - Rick Pitino says there is ''not a hint of truth'' to it, 
but a possible three-way trade between the Celtics, Raptors, and Bulls 
continues to be a popular topic around the NBA.



In the proposed deal, the Celtics' Ron Mercer and the Raptors' Tracy 
McGrady would go to the Bulls; the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, 
belonging to the Bulls, would go to the Raptors (which they would use to 
select Maryland's Steve Francis); and the Raptors' top pick, No. 5 
overall, would go to the Celtics. A few factors lend credibility to the 
proposal:



Bulls vice president Jerry Krause has long coveted Mercer and McGrady.



The Raptors start Alvin Williams at point guard and would like an 
upgrade, something the energetic Francis could provide.



The Celtics have discussed trading Mercer several times in the past 
year. They would most likely select a point guard if they got the No. 5 
pick because they are unsure about the durability of starter Kenny 
Anderson, who has finished the last two seasons injured.



What makes the trade unlikely is Pitino's assertion that the team 
doesn't need another raw first-rounder. If the Celtics don't trade, look 
for them to make a run at someone such as Rodney Rogers. The Clippers' 
free agent has fans in the Boston front office (they tried to trade for 
him in March). The Celtics believe they need a defender for their first 
unit and a scorer for their second unit, and the 6-foot-7-inch Rogers 
can definitely score (he averaged 7.5 points last season). Also, Rogers 
and Pitino have a mutual friend in Wake Forest coach Dave Odom.



Battie hearing in July



In other Celtics news, forward Tony Battie will have a pretrial hearing 
in late July. Battie was arrested in April outside a North End nightclub 
when a police officer said Battie not only refused to deliver proper 
identification when requested but also moved his car - allegedly 
trapping the officer's arm in the window - when an arrest was attempted. 
According to police reports, the officer was then forced to pull his 
service revolver and arrest the 6-11 Battie.



This story ran on page C7 of the Boston Globe on 06/10/99. >

DJessen33