Randy

["Jim Meninno" <jim_meninno@hotmail.com>]

Randy Brown?  Wasn't that Hugh Grant's hooker?  Anyway, we've had the Herald 
version.  Now here's the Globe's scoop on our newest Celtic.  I like a lot 
of what we're hearing.  Tough nosed defender.  Vocal, veteran team leader.  
He should make a big difference to the second unit, and in the locker room 
as well.  I wouldn't expect Kenny to see much time at the end of close games 
(I wonder how he'll react to that?), and I wouldn't expect Dana to see much 
time at all.

Jim

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The price and player were finally right for the Celtics, who reached an 
agreement with free agent point guard Randy Brown yesterday afternoon. 
According to coach and team president Rick Pitino, the sides have ''agreed 
in principle and all that remains to be done now is the physical and the 
signing of the contract.''

Brown's agent Mark Bartelstein simply said, ''Yes, we have a deal'' and 
relayed the terms.

For a deal worth $7.5 million over three years, the Celtics receive a player 
praised for his toughness, defensive skills, and leadership ability. Brown 
will earn the mid-level exception of $2.25 million this year and he will 
hold the option for the third year.

Brown, 32, will arrive in Boston this morning; the team will formally 
announce the deal at a press conference today. ''I am pretty excited,'' said 
Brown from Chicago, where he was born and raised and won three world 
championships with the Bulls. ''It's started to sink in a little bit now. I 
finally got a chance to sit down and make a few phone calls. ... It's been 
on the table for a while. We've had numerous discussions with Boston as well 
as Milwaukee and some other teams. But the Boston became attractive because 
of playing under coach Pitino. He just said some things that it was quite 
clear they were ready to break through.

''I was looking at basically team situations. I thought Boston, Milwaukee, 
Phoenix, those teams, would be a good idea for me because I could come in 
and help their second units. Being with Boston, they have a younger group 
and I feel like I can come in and add some leadership qualities ... They're 
a couple of games away from being a playoff team and I wanted to be a part 
of that.''