Miami Herald: Riley should pursue Mercer

[Jakob Roland Munch <jmunch@econ.dk>]

           Published Sunday, June 13, 1999, in the Miami Herald 

                 BARRY JACKSON


Riley should pursue Mercer

Heat might be able to acquire guard without giving up
Brown

Heat coach Pat Riley repeatedly has said he does not want to trade forward P.J.
Brown for a perimeter player or anyone else, for that matter. The question
is, what
deal would tempt Riley enough for him to finally say yes?

The Heat, which has long coveted Lakers guard Glen Rice, has spoken with
Vancouver about a three-way deal that could bring Rice back to Miami, league
sources say.

That proposed deal would send Brown and shooting guard Voshon Lenard to
Vancouver, Rice to the Heat, and Vancouver's No 2 overall draft choice to the
Lakers, who would select UCLA point guard Baron Davis or Maryland guard Steve
Francis.

The Boston Celtics are listening to offers for guard Ron Mercer and are
believed to
be interested in Brown.

The feeling here is that the Heat would have a much better chance of acquiring
Mercer than Rice.

After giving up shooting guard Eddie Jones and power forward Elden Campbell for
Rice and forward J.R. Reid on March 10, the Lakers probably could do better than
giving up Rice for a rookie point guard.

It's also possible the Lakers might hold on to Rice.

The Celtics, on the other hand, are clearly shopping Mercer.

Celtics coach Rick Pitino says small forward Paul Pierce is practically
untouchable but makes it clear he will listen to offers for the 6-7 Mercer, who
played for Pitino at Kentucky. 

``I know who the scorers on our team should be,'' Pitino said. ``They should be
Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce. We all need to accept that. There's too much
talent on our team for us not to be in the playoffs. Even my mother noticed that
last year. She watched us and said, `You all play like you don't want to
pass the
ball.' ''

Pitino always has admired Heat forward Jamal Mashburn, who played for him at
Kentucky and is the big-name player the Heat can most afford to trade.

Only one problem: The Celtics do not need Mashburn, because their two best
players (Walker and Pierce) are also offense-minded forwards.

What Boston needs is a savvy veteran who can rebound and defend. Someone
like Heat forward Brown. 

Neither Celtics GM Chris Wallace nor Heat GM Randy Pfund discuss trade talks
publicly. But the Heat would be wise to explore a trade for Mercer, who's
entering
the last year of his contract. That's because he might be the only young,
above-average shooting guard that the Heat can realistically expect to
acquire in a
trade this summer.

Rice, 32, is a better player than Mercer, 23, but Mercer can create his own
shot,
unlike Rice and most current Heat perimeter players.

The question that Riley must answer -- and is often the case -- is whether
to give
up Brown. The Celtics could tempt the Heat by offering Mercer and power forward
Tony Battie, who also is entering the final year of his contract.

For two years, teams have tried to get Riley to trade Brown, who -- with
four years
left on a $36 million contract -- is a bargain by today's standards.

But if Riley can acquire an above-average shooting guard (such as Mercer, Mitch
Richmond or Rice) without having to trade Brown, I'll be more than a bit
surprised.

If Riley would not trade Brown for an All-Star caliber player such as Latrell
Sprewell in January, then would Riley give any thought to including Brown in a
deal for Mercer, who would be a significant upgrade over Lenard but isn't on
Sprewell's level?

Even if Riley was willing to part with Brown, a Brown-Mercer trade would not
work
straight up within the salary cap. Because Brown ($5.1 million next season)
earns
twice what Mercer will make, the salary difference would have to be resolved by
adding other players to the deal (maybe Celtics Battie, Walter McCarty, Pervis
Ellison or Dana Barros). A multiplayer deal involving Walker would not work
because of cap reasons.

Mercer averaged 17.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists this season and shot
43.1 percent from the field. He can create his own shot but isn't a threat from
beyond the 3-point line (he has gone 8 for 58 in the first two years of his NBA
career).

``The only way the Celtics should be worried about re-signing him is if
there are
teams out there who will pay him what they won't pay him,'' Minnesota GM Kevin
McHale says. ``I don't see any teams out there who will give him [the maximum]
$71 million over six years.''

When Riley decides whether to trade Brown for a certain shooting guard, the
decision should come down to this: Is the Heat better with a lineup of Alonzo
Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Brown, Mashburn and Lenard -- or  a lineup with the
new shooting guard (Mercer, for argument's sake), Hardaway, Mashburn,
Mourning and an affordable veteran stopgap power forward, such as Otis Thorpe?

If the Heat trades Brown, Miami would need to sign a power forward with its
$2 million or $1.1 million salary cap exceptions. The most logical free-agent
options would include Thorpe, Charles Oakley, A.C. Green, Mark Bryant and
Jermaine O'Neal. The Heat probably could not afford Reid or Lorenzen Wright.

Mercer is a logical target for Miami partly because there are so few other
realistic
options. Riley has said he does not want the team to get much older, suggesting
he might be reluctant to do a sign-and-trade for Richmond, who turns 34 on
June 30.

And don't get your hopes up yet about Rice. The Heat faces heavy competition.
The Lakers reportedly are not enamored with anybody on the Heat's roster
beyond Mourning. Last week, rumors out of the pre-draft camp in Chicago had
Los Angeles and Houston discussing a deal that would send Rice and Robert
Horry to the Rockets for Scottie Pippen.

So besides Mercer, who could the Heat realistically acquire who would be a
significant upgrade at small forward or shooting guard? Maybe Portland's Isaiah
Rider, but Mashburn would not be enough to get him. Penny Hardaway? A long
shot at best. Look down rosters, and it becomes obvious: There are precious few
high-quality shooting guards the Heat has much chance of acquiring.

And Miami does not have the salary cap space to sign high-priced free agents.

That's why it makes sense for the Heat to pursue Mercer. The question is
this: Is
there any way the Heat can get him without giving up Brown? Stay tuned.

Around the league

For the first time, Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens is raising concerns about the
team's future with 32-year-old PG Mookie Blaylock, who shot just 37.9 percent
this season and ranked just 20th in assists (5.8).

``That's the area that we have to evaluate very strongly,'' Wilkens said.
``Whether
it's having someone come in who has to play ahead of him or getting him to the
point where he understands he's got to run the show. Find people and think pass
first, not worry about his scoring.''

   New Magic coach Doc Rivers says he was fortunate to play for Larry Brown,
Mike Fratello and Riley. ``Brown was the ultimate teacher,'' Rivers says.
``Fratello
was the great preparer, and playing for Riley can't hurt you. Well
physically, it can
[hurt] with those five-hour practices. I took something from all of them.''

Rivers reportedly will hire ex-Heat assistant coach and executive Dave Wohl as
an assistant. Wohl finished this season assisting Kurt Rambis with the Lakers.

   Look for Seattle to pursue Magic free-agent F Bo Outlaw and Toronto to make
a run at Sonics F Vin Baker, who's expected to opt out of his contract.