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.