Pitino: We Want To Re-Sign Mercer

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

      Boston Herald 
      
      Van Gundy will stay put 
      NBA Finals Notebook/by Steve Bulpett 
      Saturday, June 26, 1999
      <snips>
      C's in no rush with Mercer
      Rick Pitino said the Celtics are still confident about getting things 
      worked out with Ron Mercer. He had expressed some surprise that the club 
      had yet to get together with Mercer's representatives at No Limit, but 
      Pitino is now looking more than three weeks down the road to get into 
      serious negotiations for a contract extension with his starting 2-guard.
      Mercer has come up in trade talks, and Pitino makes no excuses for testing 
      the waters.
      ``We've gotten calls, and there's been nothing we'd really consider 
      doing,'' Pitino said. ``Since Ron came here, there's been tremendous 
      interest in him. Ron knows that part of me only wants what's best for him. 
      That's the part that recruited him (to Kentucky). But the other part has 
      to do what's best for the Boston Celtics. He and I are very much on the 
      same page with what's going on. Our first option is to sign him. No. 2 is 
      to let him play the year out and finish his contract. The No. 3 option is 
      to trade him if we didn't feel we could sign him.''