Peter May On Fortson & Blount

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

http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/teams/celtics/

 Boston Celtics
Team Report posted AUGUST 10, 2000

By TSN correspondent
Peter May
Boston Globe


They've used their mid-level exception on Randy Brown. The Celtics still
have the $1.2 million slot available should they choose, but they are
now spending time trying to deal with the Danny Fortson dilemma.

The problem: They don't want him back, but they also don't want anything
back for him. Collective bargaining agreement rules make such a
situation unnerving and hard to deal with.

With the signing of Brown, the Celtics are carrying a staggering $47
million payroll, or almost $12 million over the cap. Rick Pitino has
constantly said his annual "budget" consists of the salary cap, plus the
two allowed exceptions. That total would be about $39 million. So he's
well over what he says is his budget -- and now he's staring more money
in the face with Fortson.

Ideally, the Celtics want to sign Fortson and trade him to a club for
draft picks. There's one problem with that: Teams aren't going to give
up draft picks when Fortson might be available at the mid-level
exception.

In addition, most teams interested in Fortson are over the cap as well.
So, any sign and trade deal must be expanded to include more players or
a third team.

Orlando was a possibility, but the Magic moved instead to bring in
ex-Celtic Andrew DeClercq. The Knicks and Warriors have had Fortson in
for visits, but both teams want him at the $2.25 million exception. Sign
and trade talks have gone nowhere, in part because the
already-over-budget Celtics don't want to take back any players.

But allowing Fortson to leave without getting anything in return would
be a serious public relations blow to a team that already is barely on
the radar screen. All that would be left of the deal which sent Ron
Mercer to Denver for Fortson (and other throw-ins) would be Eric
Williams, who has a ridiculous salary, and a future No. 1 pick.

The Celtics took a lot of heat last February when they traded Fortson to
Toronto for Alvin Williams and Sean Marks. The trade was voided when
Williams failed his physical, but the Raptors believe it was due to a
case of buyer's remorse.

Meanwhile, the team totally misread the marketplace on Mercer, believing
it couldn't afford to re-sign him. Pitino also said he didn't see how he
could re-sign Fortson, another misread.

Bringing Fortson back is a long shot for two reasons: The Celtics would
have to pay him, and he wouldn't get the minutes he wanted. The team
already has added a center (Mark Blount) and drafted a power forward
(Jerome Moiso.) Fortson wants a bigger role wherever he goes and that
would be difficult to find in Boston with Antoine Walker eating up
minutes at power forward.

But he is also determined not to settle for the mid-level exception,
which is why sign-and-trade talks continue. But right now, that still
looks like his best option. And that would mean that the Celtics would
end up losing someone whom they didn't think they could afford for $2.25
million a year.

PLAYER ANALYSIS

The Celtics feel they got a sleeper in Mark Blount, a 7-footer who has
been more of a tease than anything else over the years. He left the
University of Pittsburgh early, only to fall to the second round of the
draft where Seattle picked him.

The Sonics didn't want him, and he spent the next two years toiling in
relative obscurity in the CBA and the IBL. But after bringing in Blount
for a summer workout, the Celtics saw enough to be intrigued.

They basically made a commitment to him before the start of their summer
league and Blount will be in camp with a small guarantee. The Celtics
feel Blount has matured a lot over the past two years. He has lost
weight and has shown a definite ability to block shots and rebound.

Even as the 12th man, he could see time when the Celtics press, which
Pitino says will be often. Blount's offensive game is "evolving," as
they say, but the reason he's in Boston instead of Boise is that he has
improved his game and his attitude.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Fortson saga will continue to occupy the Celtics' time until it is
resolved. The club will then add a couple more "camp guys" to bring the
roster to 15 or 16 for the opening of training camp. They already have
14 players under contract, but one of them, Greg Minor, is injured.
Ideally, Pitino would like to carry 15 players with three on the injured
list.

Kris Clack, the team's second-round pick in 1999, is one player who
should be in camp. Like Blount, he wasn’t ready for the NBA. He and the
Celtics agreed it would be best if he played elsewhere last season. He
ended up in the IBL, and his game looked NBA-worthy in recent summer
league games in Boston.