Holley: Credibility For Mercer For 5th Pick Deal

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

Holley says rumors are flying around the NBA about a
Chicago/Toronto/Boston 
three-way deal, where the C's would receive Toronto's No. 5 choice for
Mercer and then draft a point guard.
                                                    

                                [The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
                                [Boston Globe Online / Sports]

                                CELTICS NOTEBOOK
                                Pitino not bullish on 3-way deal

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

                                 [Image]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
                                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.
                                © Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.