Moiso and Blount Play Well; Bimbo a Possibility; Mercer Talks Coming

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

C's look for Croshere: But Pacers have inside track on forward
Celtics Notebook/by Steve Bulpett
Boston Herald - Tuesday, July 18, 2000


The Celtics are waiting at the altar for Austin Croshere, holding out
hope that he will join them in holy free agent contract. In the
meantime, Rick Pitino is set to hit the road in search of other possible
sign-ees.

It appears the Celts will be waiting a while for an answer to their
proposal to Croshere. The Indiana forward and his agent have told the
Celts their primary interest is in remaining with the Pacers, a club
that has several important issues to deal with before getting to
Croshere.

Though sources indicate Indiana has settled on Isiah Thomas to replace
Larry Bird as coach, Thomas must first get his house in order (selling
the CBA, etc.) before things can be finalized. Then the Pacers must deal
with free agents Jalen Rose and Reggie Miller.

``And then,'' Celts coach and president Pitino said last night,
``there's other teams after him, as well.''

But as Croshere said during the NBA Finals, he rates Boston as a strong
option, having attended Providence College.

``I think he's very high on us,'' said Pitino, ``and we're very high on
him. He loves Boston. We're not really looking at trades. We're looking
at the open market, and Croshere's the most serious conversation we've
had.''

The best the Celts can offer Croshere is the $2.25 million middle class
exception, while the Pacers can go over the cap to keep him.

Said one league source who has weighed in with Croshere, ``If the Pacers
offer him a good deal and the right role, I think he stays there, no
question. If not, I think Boston's got a real chance. That's the way the
kid is talking.''

Walking on Coles

As for other free agents on the Celtics' radar screen, the club will
host point guard Bimbo Coles tomorrow, and Pitino will be hitting the
road Thursday.

``I'm going to talk to Hubert Davis, I'm going to talk to Ron (Mercer),
and I'm going to talk to Tariq Abdul-Wahad,'' Pitino said.

The Celtics are clearly in search of a starting 2-guard. The 6-foot-5
Davis averaged 7.4 points in 23 minutes a game for Dallas last season,
and the 30-year-old's 49 percent 3-point shooting average topped the
league. The 6-6 Abdul-Wahad averaged 11.4 points in 25.9 minutes between
Orlando and Denver. Obviously, the Celts are aware what Mercer can do
after he spent his first two seasons here.

The visit with Mercer is said to be more of a feeling-out process. The
Celts dealt him away last summer (essentially for Danny Fortson and Eric
Williams) when they couldn't meet his contractual asking price. But the
market has changed, leaving it all but impossible for Mercer to get what
he originally sought. Mercer will likely have an offer from Miami to
peruse in the next week or so as well.

Clack has knack

The Celts' top draftee, Jerome Moiso, had a nice debut in the Shaw's Pro
Summer League at UMass-Boston yesterday, but it was last year's
second-round pick, Kris Clack, who scored the decisive points in
Boston's 81-79 win over Atlanta.

Moiso had 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots in 19
minutes (the games are 40 minutes long), while Clack hit two free throws
to break a tie with 1.9 seconds left. . . .

Helping himself the most this summer for the Celts is 6-10 center Mark
Blount. The Pittsburgh product has strengthened his frame considerably.
He had 15 points in 26 minutes yesterday (tying Rodney Elliott for
team-high).

``We're very high on Mark Blount. He's going to be in our camp,'' said
Pitino. ``We're going to sign him.'' . . .

Tony Battie is on call for the Celts. He may play at the end of the week
after Moiso leaves for a personal commitment. . . . A crew from ESPN2
came in late last night to install TV lights at the Clark Center. The
network will do a pair of games today and Thursday. . . . Four games are
on tap today, beginning at noon. Tickets are available through
Ticketmaster and at the door. . . . The Celts have hired Bill Bonsiewicz
as PR man Jeff Twiss' new top assistant.