Boston Herald
It's a Rocky Mountain bye: Ax
falls as Nuggets rebuild [Image]
NBA Notes/by Mark Cofman
Sunday, September 19, 1999
<snips>
Teammates again?
It wasn't long ago that Mercer and
Chauncey Billups were considered
the backcourt of the future in
Boston. They are teammates again
in Denver, but that could change.
Billups, selected in the 1997
draft by the Celtics three picks
before Mercer at No. 3, is also up
for contract extension. The
Nuggets expected to re-sign him
this summer, but their inability
to get that done following the
ownership change makes him a
candidate to be traded.
In a sense, Mercer's arrival helps
grease the skids for a possible
Billups departure. Billups, a
cross between a point guard and
off-guard, plays the latter
position most often in Denver with
Nick Van Exel running the offense.
Mercer, joining Billups, Bryant
Stith, George McCloud and
first-round pick James Posey,
creates something of a logjam at
off-guard.
Issel's plan right now is to start
Mercer up front. Should Mercer
prove less effective as a small
forward, however, either he or
Billups would be prime trade bait.
Would the Celtics bring Billups
back for a second tour, as they
did with Williams? It would
certainly make one Pitino happy.
Coach Rick Pitino's son, Richard,
became good friends with Billups
before the 6-foot-3 guard was sent
to Toronto in the February 1998
deal that brought Kenny Anderson,
among others, to Boston.
Shape of things
Pitino on Paul Pierce, who
returned to town last week to work
out at HealthPoint in preparation
for training camp: ``Sometimes you
get a real good rookie and you
wonder, `Will he let it get to his
head? Will he embrace it?' Most
young people embrace success, but
Paul Pierce went the other way.
He's practiced day and night this
summer and he remains extremely
hungry.''