Mercer to Miami?

["Josh Farber" <joshfarber@home.com>]

Here is an article that I found that says that Mercer may be just what Pat
Riley wants.
The trade would be Mercer for PJ Brown, but addtional players would have to
be sent to Miami to make the deal work out cap wise

MIAMI HEAT


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


BARRY JACKSON

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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.
e-mail: bjackson@herald.com