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Chicago on the Mercer signing
On the one hand, Mercer reportedly signed for the same "insulting"
amount Pitino offered last summer. On the other hand, Mercer's departure
gave us a number one draft pick and allowed a better all-around player
like Pierce to develop faster. Mercer sounds genuinely more mature now
and I hope he plays well for the Bulls and gets along with the other Ron
(Artest), Elton Brand and Jamal Crawford. Right now that team needs an
experienced guy to replace Randy Brown. It's still not clear what their
intentions are with Pfizer.
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Bulls get Mercer
A press conference will be held at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Berto Center.
By Fred Mitchell
Tribune Staff Writer
August 2, 2000
The Bulls failed in their attempts to
sign one of the NBA's marquee free
agents, but won't come out of the
signing period empty.
They agreed to terms Tuesday with
shooting guard Ron Mercer, who
finished last season with Orlando. The
four-year deal is worth $27 million.
"We had Mercer here for half the year.
He certainly was a great help to us,"
Orlando Magic executive Pat Williams
said. "He can score; he's an offensive
player. His defense improved. You
know he carries the label of a
non-defender. But this whole
heart-and-hustle thing that we had
going last year [under Orlando coach
Glenn Rivers] ... Mercer got caught up
in it.
"With the intensity of that group, he
had to guard people, or he was going to
be left in the dust. He said at the end of
the year that it was the most rewarding
season he ever had, and that it meant
the most to him. It really seemed to have affected
him. He had a very
positive experience here and he is still a young guy
[24]."
"Mercer's game is still ahead of him," said Williams,
a former Bulls
general manager. "He's a good guy, and based on all
that has gone
on this past month for the Bulls ... they salvaged
it."
The 6-foot 7-inch, 210-pound Mercer has played three
years in the
NBA after being drafted by the Boston Celtics.
Mercer, who will be
with his fourth NBA team in four seasons, was traded
to Denver after
two years in Boston. He was dealt to Orlando last
season, where he
averaged 16.9 points per game.
Mercer helped Kentucky reach the Final Four in each
of his two
college seasons and contributed to the Wildcats' 1996
NCAA title.
In 189 NBA games, he has averaged 16.2 points. He
made the NBA
All-Rookie team in 1998, averaging 15.3 points for
Boston. In his
second season, he averaged 17 points.
Mercer wants to settle down
By Fred Mitchell
Tribune Staff Writer
August 3, 2000
Ron Mercer said he figures it's time to
settle down.
"It is a big priority for me to get
established in an organization," the
Bulls' lone free-agent signee said
Wednesday.
The 6-foot-7-inch, 210-pound Mercer
joins his fourth NBA team in four years.
Drafted by the Boston Celtics out of
Kentucky in 1997, the 24-year-old
shooting guard was traded to Denver
after two years, then dealt to Orlando
last season, where he averaged 16.9
points.
"I played my best basketball when I
was with Boston," he said. "It is very
important to get a jump early and get
established and know in the back of
my mind that I am not going anywhere.
"I have just been in unlucky situations,"
Mercer added. "I have been in Boston
where they had salary-cap problems
and I was the guy with the contract
coming up. Then I was in a situation in
Denver when the ownership really
wasn't established. Being in a place
that I really wanted in Orlando ... I had
fun and I think I had my best basketball
there. Then they had a lot of free
agents [Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady] who wanted to
come there."
Mercer agreed to a four-year, $27 million contract
with the Bulls, but
"money was not one of the first three factors" in his
decision,
according to his agent, Andy Miller.
Timing was the key for Mercer to cash in on the big
bucks that the
top-tier free agents rejected.
"I took my time and I was patient and never got
discouraged about
what was going on," Mercer said. "When you take your
time, good
things happen.
"I don't look at it as trying to come in and fill
Michael Jordan's shoes.
I can't do that. When all reality sets in, this is a
totally different team.
They are not the Bulls of the '90s. These are the
rebuilding Bulls.
That's how I look at it."
Coach Tim Floyd, who lost veteran free-agent point
guard Randy
Brown to the Celtics Wednesday, said he is looking
forward to
Mercer aiding a Bulls offense that ranked last in
scoring last season.
"He is a guy that we had talked about a great deal,
going back as
late as last summer," Floyd said.
"This is a challenge that I want," Mercer said. "This
is a team I have
always watched over the years when they won
championships. Now I
am part of the rebuilding process.. "I am ready to
get started right
away. I am not going to report to training camp when
it is time, I am
going to report ahead of time."
Mercer became the odd man out in Orlando when Hill
and McGrady
stated their intentions. Mercer admited he would have
rather
remained with the Magic.
"It's Doc Rivers' quote, 'Taxes and sun,"' said
Mercer of Orlando's
appeal. Florida has no state income tax.
"There are certain guys who are from Florida who
wanted to go there.
Other guys want to play with certain guys.
Rivers "is a great coach and a great person, a
down-to-earth person,"
Mercer added. "And a guy who played in the league and
knows how
to get the best out of his players because he has
been there before."
Mercer said he hopes that atmosphere develops with
the Bulls, who
were 17-65 last season but had the co-Rookie of the
Year in Elton
Brand.
"It's about the chemistry," said Mercer. "In Orlando
we had a lot of
guys who weren't top-name players, but all of us got
along and the
chemistry was there. I think we can rub that off in
this organization
as well."
Mercer would like to see the Bulls add a few more
free agents before
the season starts, including Charlotte Hornets center
Brad Miller.