RE: Holley Lama: Mercer Could Be Back

[OzerskyJA <OzerskyJA@cmog.org>]

No outside shot?  Just what Ron Mercer are you thinking of?
I think he would make a great sixth man -- that may be his natural position.

Josh Ozersky	
Marketing Communications Specialist 
Corning Museum of Glass

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	John Lyell [SMTP:johnlyell@hotmail.com]
> Sent:	Sunday, July 09, 2000 2:50 PM
> To:	Shailendra Mishra; Josh Farber; Way Of The Ray; Josh Ozersky
> Cc:	celtics@igtc.com
> Subject:	Re: Holley Lama: Mercer Could Be Back
> 
> Pierce is a much more complete player than Ron Mercer will ever be. Two
> guards with no outside shot are a dime a dozen. This along with his 'Team
> Cancer" tag is why he won't get anywhere near what he was looking for. I
> am not sure bringing him back would be good for team chemistry.
>  
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> 
> 	----- Original Message ----- 
> 	From: Shailendra Mishra <mailto:shailendra_mishra@yahoo.com> 
> 	To: Josh Farber <mailto:nbaj2k@home.com> ; Way Of The Ray
> <mailto:wayray@ix.netcom.com> ; Josh Ozersky <mailto:OzerskyJA@cmog.org> 
> 	Cc: celtics@igtc.com <mailto:celtics@igtc.com> 
> 	Sent: Sunday, July 09, 2000 8:51 AM
> 	Subject: Re: Holley Lama: Mercer Could Be Back
> 
> 
> 	I would love to have Mercer back, Pierce can't play the 2-guard and
> all others who tried to play the position sucked big time. All Mercer
> needs to do is improve his defense, play the way he played in his rookie
> year, he would be a force. Your starting lineup looks good with the
> exception of Kenny Anderson, we just need to ship him out. - Mishra
> 	
> 
> 	  Josh Farber < nbaj2k@home.com <mailto:nbaj2k@home.com>> wrote: 
> 	
> 
> 		Seriously, would anyone mind seeing Mercer back?
> 		
> 		Especially, if we could have him come off the bench?
> 		I think if we could sign him with our $2.25 million dolar
> exception, I'd
> 		love to have him back.
> 		
> 		If we traded to get him back, or signed him to a big
> contract no.
> 		
> 		Well, if Duncan doesn't go to Orlando, Mercer probably would
> stay wouldn't
> 		he? Of course that's if McGrady doesn't come too.
> 		
> 		If so, we'd probably have to hope for Duncan to sign (that
> sucks) or Hope
> 		the Magic just sign McGrady and Mercer wants to leave.
> 		
> 		What does everyone think? I know everyone has talked about
> Mercer being a
> 		ball hog, but how about maybe coming off the bench?
> 		
> 		If he gets back how he was before, we could shift Pierce
> backt o SF and have
> 		a starting lineup of this. If we could convince him to pass
> of course.
> 		
> 		PG Anderson
> 		SG Mercer
> 		SF Pierce
> 		PF Walker
> 		C Potapenko
> 		
> 		Much like before, but now with Potapenko.
> 		
> 		Josh F
> 		
> 		----- Original Message -----
> 		From: "Way Of The Ray" 
> 		Newsgroups: alt.sports.basketball.nba.boston--celtics
> 		To: "Celtics" 
> 		Sent: Sunday, July 09, 2000 7:23 AM
> 		Subject: Holley Lama: Mercer Could Be Back
> 		
> 		
> 		> Holley takes a shot at Croshere in the article too. Well,
> he probably
> 		> doesn't have to worry about it, as the Indinapolis Star is
> reporting
> 		> that the Pacers want/plan to re-sign their free agents.
> Fortson gone,
> 		> Mercer back, sure why not...
> 		>
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> Courtship has some questions
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> By Michael Holley, Globe Columnist, 7/9/2000
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> The four played basketball like competing contractors,
> stumbling over
> 		> each other for the same assignment. They knew about the
> Big Three, often
> 		> drove by the Big Dig, and performed on the court as if
> they were
> 		> auditioning for the lead role in the Big (Shooting) Gig.
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> Sometimes you can feel a breakup coming long before it
> happens, like the
> 		> quake you feel minutes before the earth splits. Ron
> Mercer, Kenny
> 		> Anderson, Antoine Walker, and Paul Pierce were like that.
> You watched
> 		> them and felt the tremors. They were all in love with
> shooting. It was
> 		> obvious one would have to leave the Celtics, and since
> Mercer was the
> 		> easiest to move, he was traded last August.
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> He wouldn't mind returning.
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> ''I never wanted to leave Boston in the first place,'' he
> said Friday.
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> As easy as it is to sense breakups, it's almost impossible
> to predict
> 		> reconciliations. Mercer? Back in Boston? It was just over
> a year ago
> 		> when the camps of Mercer and Rick Pitino were slinging
> everything but
> 		> ''Yo' Mama'' jokes at each other. The Celtics offered the
> 6-foot-7-inch
> 		> guard a contract worth $4 million per season, a deal
> Mercer found
> 		> laughable. He was dealt to Denver and was then moved to
> Orlando in
> 		> February.
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> There have been whispers here and in Denver that Mercer
> was a selfish
> 		> ball hog.
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> ''People always have something to say when you're gone,
> don't they?'' he
> 		> said. The problem with the chaotic Celtics of 1999 was
> ''you had four
> 		> guys who were all playing like they had something to
> prove. That's what
> 		> I think it was. I think we could have worked that out.''
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> Mercer became a free agent last week, meaning he could
> begin next season
> 		> with his fourth team in four seasons. Even Isaiah Rider,
> the NBA's
> 		> instant headache, hasn't been traded as much as the
> 24-year-old Kentucky
> 		> product.
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> ''I'm sure someone is going to look at how much I've moved
> around and
> 		> think something is wrong with me,'' Mercer said. ''But I
> think I've been
> 		> unlucky the last few years. With the Celtics, I was traded
> because the
> 		> team had cap problems. I never wanted to be in Denver. I
> like Orlando a
> 		> lot and love playing for [coach] Doc [Rivers]. But I think
> they want
> 		> big-name players on that roster. I'm just like everyone
> else, waiting to
> 		> see what Grant Hill and Tim Duncan are going to do.''
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> Whatever the Magic decide, they know they don't have to
> pay Mercer as
> 		> much as he was seeking last summer. He is a free agent
> guard at a time
> 		> when free agent guards are easy to come by. Eddie Jones
> and Tracy
> 		> McGrady are the most coveted. Reggie Miller isn't what he
> used to be,
> 		> but he still averaged 18 points and shot 45 percent. Jalen
> Rose is a
> 		> free agent guard who spent last season playing small
> forward. And if a
> 		> team is desperate for guard help and indifferent to
> chemistry, it can
> 		> always sign Rider for just over $1 million.
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> That means, once again, Mercer has the luck of some
> Internet start-ups.
> 		> There's a chance he peaked with last summer's $4 million
> offer,
> 		> described as insulting by Mercer's former agent. He could
> be ''stuck''
> 		> (remember: it's all relative) with a middle-class
> exception of $2.25
> 		> million.
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> ''If that's what happens, that's still a lot of money,''
> he said. ''I'm
> 		> not the kind of guy who sits around thinking about money.
> My point [last
> 		> year] was that I wanted what was fair.''
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> This time last year, the story was that the Celtics could
> not afford to
> 		> sign Mercer. Now they can. But with the perplexing way
> they have done
> 		> business lately, they probably wouldn't want to. Mercer
> had a bad
> 		> shooting year (42.6 percent), an indication he didn't
> drive to the
> 		> basket enough. At his worst, he relies on his jumper
> without as much as
> 		> a tiptoe through the lane. But he still elevates as high
> as anyone on
> 		> his shot. And even in a year in which he went from New
> England to the
> 		> Rockies to Disney World, he averaged 17 points and 3.7
> rebounds.
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> If the Celtics were to sign Mercer using the $2.25 million
> exception,
> 		> they would have the option of bringing him off the bench
> to stabilize
> 		> their dilapidated second unit or putting him in the
> starting lineup and
> 		> shifting Pierce back to small forward. After that, they
> could re-sign
> 		> power forward Danny Fortson - they can pay him more than
> anyone else -
> 		> and begin looking for a reliable backup point guard. (If
> they had
> 		> drafted Mateen Cleaves this year or held on to last year's
> pick that
> 		> became Andre Miller, they wouldn't have this problem.)
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> The moves the Celtics make in the next three weeks will
> tell you how
> 		> serious they are about winning. If they sign Austin
> Croshere, a forward
> 		> who can shoot but can't play defense, to a large contract,
> they are not
> 		> serious. They also aren't serious if they use small-market
> baseball
> 		> euphemisms such as ''budget constraints'' as an excuse.
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> At least they have a free agent who wants them.
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> ''Under the right circumstances, I would love to come
> back,'' Mercer
> 		> said. He was asked what he considers the right
> circumstances. ''Antoine
> 		> would definitely have to be there,'' he said. ''I'd have
> to play with
> 		> 'Toine. I really want to go to a place where we can win.''
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> The Celtics could win. But Mercer should know that mending
> breakups is
> 		> all about timing. It's about reciprocity. He says he is
> serious about
> 		> wanting to win. Before doing anything, he should wait to
> see if the
> 		> Celtics are serious, too.
> 		>
> 		>
> 		>
> 		> This story ran on page E01 of the Boston Globe on
> 7/9/2000.
> 		> © Copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company.
> 		>
> 		>
> 		
> 
> 
> 
>   _____  
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