No Subject

>Mercer case revisited<P>

>Ron Mercer has been an ex-Celtic for more than a month and is still
>unhappy about the way his exodus is being portrayed. Yes, it was about the
>money. But no, it wasn't all about the money. Mercer revealed that he was
>told before the end of the regular season, in the back of the Celtics'
>locker room in Madison Square Garden, that he probably would not be
>re-signed. According to Mercer, Pitino told him he didn't think the team
>could meet his market value, although Mercer said he didn't know what that
>figure was, nor was one offered by Pitino. And for good reason. There
>wasn't any way anyone could have known what that figure was. ''I knew then
>that I wasn't going to be back,'' Mercer said. Then there was the brief
>meeting in Boston, at which time the Celtics offered him $7 million over
>four years. That's a decent wage. But Antoine Walker is making $12 million
>a year. And Mercer thinks his market value is somewhere in between. ''I
>know what I'm capable of doing,'' he said. ''I don't think you understand
>how much motivation I have for this season.''  So, based on one offer, and
>one counter from Mercer that was not, as is being circulated, for the
>maximum $71 million, the Celtics decided they couldn't re-sign one of
>their top players. There were no more calls. There were no more offers.
>There was no more negotiation. ''We wanted to make something happen,''
>Mercer said. ''I wanted to stay with the Celtics, but I also wanted to be
>treated fairly. That's all. But it's being said that I was money-hungry
>and that's not it at all.'' Mercer may indeed be unrealistic about his
>market value. He'll get what he gets and it will be a lot. It also may not
>be close to $7 million. But teams traditionally overpay for players they
>want to keep, and Mercer had every right to expect to be one of those
>guys, especially when he sees teammates represented by his former agent,
>David Falk, signed up quickly and without fanfare. And a disagreement over
>compensation is hardly a novelty in pro sports. ''I don't know what the
>reason was,'' Mercer said. ''All I know is that I was going to be traded
>and it was that way the entire two years I was in Boston. That's not
>good.'' And what kind of message does it send to Danny Fortson, Tony
>Battie and, in a couple years, Pierce? Will they, too, be told their
>market value makes them unsignable and become the latest departees in the
>Bare Rick Project?<


Paul M.