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The Celtics are working on getting second-round draft pick Josip Sesar
onto the roster for the coming season. To do so, however, will require
some international maneuvering.

The 6-foot-6 shooting guard, whose rights were obtained on draft night
from Seattle, still has one year left on his current contract with
Cibona Zagreb of the Croatian Pro League. In that the Celts are capped
out, the most they could offer for a buyout is $350,000.

Beyond the start of training camp in October, Celtics general manager
Chris Wallace has also tried to get Sesar in for next week's Boston Pro
Summer League.

In the latter case, the chances are better because Cibona Zagreb doesn't
open its camp until August. But the club may not want Sesar getting such
a good taste of NBA life.

"We're still trying to see what we can do about getting him over here,"
said Wallace, referring to Sesar's availability for the second-year
summer league, which runs July 17-24 at UMass-Boston. "That situation is
still up for grabs, but it's something we're certainly looking into at
this point."

Adding Sesar to their roster this season would be an obvious plus for
the Celtics, who list depth at shooting guard among their needs. Adding
a scoring threat at that position would allow Celtics coach Rick Pitino
the flexibility to give swingman Paul Pierce more playing time at his
natural position at small forward.

Sesar averaged 20.4 points in four seasons in Croatia, while also
holding down a prominent role on that country's national team. His
scoring average includes 40 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point arc
-- another glaring Celtics weakness in recent years. Sesar is also
considered a good ball-handler and passer who saw extensive time as a
point guard last year.

Wallace and associate head coach Jim O'Brien began to target Sesar after
seeing his pre-draft workout in Chicago. But the deal to get a shot at
the 22-year-old didn't come down until late on draft night, with the
Celts forking over a pair of future second round picks to get him.

Sesar lasted until the 47th overall pick in the second round. Like many
European players, his contract status and questions about the
discrepancy in quality of play between the United States and Europe
helped him slide.

But the Celtics, whose second-round pick this year belonged to the
Knicks to complete a 1997 deal involving Chris Mills, didn't mind
spending two second-round choices next year (their own and another via
Denver) to secure Sesar's NBA rights. They retain those rights
regardless of whether Sesar joins them this season or next.