BskBall Talks about C's

>>>>06/12-C's DENY DEAL- Several New York media outlets were carrying a rumor that the New Jersey Nets and Celtics were discussing an Antoine Walker/Keith Van Horn swap. Rick Pitino briefly addressed and denied that there was such a deal in the works, sighting that he would not discuss "total fabrications", there are cap restrictions and according to the Nets , limited interest in parting with Van Horn, make the idea unreasonable. The Celtics have been talking with Portland about acquiring Jermaine O'Neal for their draft pick, but it looks as though Chicago has first dibs on the player for their # 7 over all pick. The Celtics were the prime team scouting Greek sensation Iakovos Tskaldis (AKA- Big Jake), the story on him is, his Greek team does not want to lose him, however his agents are telling NBA GM's that his deal with AKA Athens is no big deal and he can get out of it if drafted. Several GM's have said they were told differing things by the center agents, and that they feel there may be something more to all this than being said. The NBA allows teams to negotiate buyouts of players from other leagues, even if over the cap, but that amount is limited to $350,000, and its unclear what exactly it will cost to get him released from the deal. The Celtics have not limited themselves to just Big Jake, they also have eyes for the Nigerian Olumide Oyedeji, a 6'10 center that exploded on to the NBA scene from the Nike Invitational. The Dallas Mavericks are very interested in him, and typical to Pitino form, he may be trying and steal a Nelson player again (Pitino made offers to move up to grab Dirk Nowitski). Also on the list of possibles at the Celtics this week are Hidayet Turkoglou, a 6-8 swingman from Turkey (he does have a long term deal in Turkey that would require a buyout). The C's have explored introductory discussions about moving Tony Battie and their pick for the right package (they have placed alot of value on Tony), and there has been virtually no word on the fate of Kenny Anderson.... So there you go. The latest from Boston.<<<<