Paul Gaston Speaks Of Fiscal Matters

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

Bulpett mentions later in the article that trade possibilities
will be expored heavily...


      Fiscal fitness won't hurt Celts 
      by Steve Bulpett 
      Thursday, May 6, 1999
      With eight years and $36 million left on Rick Pitino's contract, he and 
      Celtic owner Paul Gaston will be dancing together for some time to come. 
      But in that Gaston has sworn to hold the fiscal line on player contracts, 
      it's hard to picture them cheek-to-cheek.
      Pitino said last week on these pages that his ability to sign Ron Mercer 
      to an extension this summer will be predicated largely on whether he can 
      keep within the budget set forth by Gaston.
      Pitino was then quoted in Tuesday's Herald as saying a similar situation 
      exists with Tony Battie - only more pressing because if Battie is allowed 
      to play out his last year and become a free agent in 2000, he is in an 
      affordable salary sphere.
      Pitino readily admits that he knew of the budget (essentially the salary 
      cap figure plus the exception) when he signed on to a deal that pays him 
      $7 million a season to coach and $2 million per for four years in a front 
      office capacity.
      But as was written last summer when Antoine Walker's contract was pending, 
      there is bound to be conflict when trying to balance an all-out effort to 
      win basketball games with the need to be successful financially.
      While uncomfortable dealing with the issue publicly, Gaston said, in 
      essence, that fans shouldn't judge the Celtics guilty before an alleged 
      crime is committed.
      ``I think what's important for Celtic fans is that their team's future is 
      not going to be constricted in any meaningful way by fiscal 
      considerations,'' Gaston said, ``meaning that what we think we can spend 
      on an annual basis on players ought to be sufficient to build a winner.
      ``I think our willingness to attempt to build a team the last few years 
      and to spend vast amounts of money is self-evident. We are running this 
      team the exact same way we have managed it for the last 16 years.''
      Gaston has criticized certain fellow owners in the past for their 
      decisions on large contracts, and though the Celtics have consistently 
      made money through lean years on the court, he is not looking to alter the 
      club's bottom line health.
      ``The new collective bargaining agreement, while I think it is an 
      improvement over the old one in many respects, still gives teams the 
      ability to commit fiscal suicide,'' Gaston said.
      ``We are not going to be among those teams.''
      What Gaston clearly would like to see is the Celtics being among the 
      playoff teams. There can be no question that he - like the rest of the 
      club's fans - had hoped for better results this season.
      ``It's been a tough season,'' he said. ``But it seems like we made some 
      progress toward the end, and hopefully we'll do some real work over the 
      summer and come back next year stronger.''
      Until the Celtics reconvene in the autumn for training camp, there will be 
      great uncertainty as to the team's make-up.
      The players have been following the talk about budgets and the ability to 
      sign people. Of course, they are curious.
      ``I wouldn't want to be the coach and the owner right now,'' said Walker. 
      ``It's going to be very difficult. But the guys that are up (for 
      extensions - Mercer and Battie) are very key components of this team and 
      we need them around.
      ``I would love to see them here, but I understand it's a business and 
      those guys have to do what's best for them.''
      For his part, Pitino has said he will not let the two walk away as free 
      agents.
      Thus, the trade possibilities will be explored heavily.
      ``We may not have a choice,'' Pitino said.
      ``But we have to make sure we get quality in return. We can't just trade 
      good players and not get something very good in return.''
      Mercer and Battie have both said they'd like to stay with the Celtics.
      But they are aware of the financial situation and are keeping open their 
      options.