Steve Bulpett Asks And Answers The Major Questions Surrounding The Celtics

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

I thought this was an informative article, much more so than Holley's
column.

Questions numerous for Celtics
The NBA/by Steve Bulpett
Thursday, April 19, 2001



The future is now for the Celtics. When the uniformed members of the
organization trudged off the FleetCenter floor after their season-ending
97-92 loss to the Charlotte Hornets last night, the door opened on the
behind-the-scenes season that, frankly, is of far greater importance to the
franchise than the chance to play a short series against the Philadelphia
76ers starting this weekend.

To summarize what's ahead, we offer the issues and answers. We begin at the
top, examining who will be running this show.

Issue: The much-discussed sale of the Celtics.

Answer: Much of the discussion has taken place in newsprint and it's rarely
gotten any further. Put it this way: Unless some billionaire walks in and
tells Paul Gaston he'd like to overpay for the Celtics, the club will not be
changing hands.

It was reported in these pages early in the season that a potential bidder
had come in to kick the tires. Speaking through intermediaries, that person
was given a price in the $330 million range. Far too much for what a club
without real estate holdings is worth.

While avoiding specifics, chief operating officer Rich Pond said then: ``If
the price you heard is that high, there's a reason for it. And the reason is
that the team's not for sale.''

Issue: Is there a chance Larry Bird will rejoin the club in some capacity?

Answer: The Celtics are presently prepared to go forward with Chris Wallace
running the hoop operation, but if Bird decided it was really something he
wanted to do, something could be worked out. But don't count on it unless
there is a change in the way the key parties are thinking.

Issue: Jim O'Brien's continued stewardship of the bench.

Answer: The players want it, management wants it and O'Brien wants it. All
that is left is for the sides to agree on the years and the dollars.

The move appears solid on all sides. O'Brien deserves this shot. He was the
right man with the right approach (straightforward) to follow the Rick
Pitino regime. That he was part of said regime only gave him the ability to
hit the ground running in January.

Issue: Paul Pierce's contract extension.

Answer: As no-brainers go, this one ranks up there with David Copperfield
asking Claudia Schiffer if she'd like to, you know, grab a little dinner or
something.

Understand that if the Celtics do nothing, they will still be able to
maintain Pierce's services for at least two more seasons. He is under
contract for next year and will be a restricted free agent in the summer of
2002. At that point, even if Pierce was hellbent on getting out, the best he
could do is sign a one-year deal, then go away in 2003.

Those thoughts should never get spent on either side. Pierce likes things
here and while he has said he wants to see the direction things are going
before he signs on long term, keeping O'Brien will be the perfect first
step.

Issue: Antoine Walker's future.

Answer: Walker told people things would change when Pitino left and he has
been generally true to his word. Among that which has changed has been the
thinking of some people who can help decide his path. Celtic types have
generally embraced the Walker who has been at times simply a better teammate
and at times a revelation since early January.

This isn't Never Never Land, however, and it's fair to think the Celtics
will field some offers for their co-captain and even check what the market
is like for him before the summer is over. But it's not going to be in the
same manner things have gone the last couple of offseasons. Unless another
club offers the moon and a star to be named later, Walker will be back here
next season.

Understanding that caveat, this is best. The Celtics will not be able to
compete for a championship - not just a nice playoff run - until they get a
rock for the middle. If Walker can bring someone like that in trade, he has
to realize the club would have no choice. But there aren't many of those
types floating around out there and prying one away is near impossible.

Issue: Kenny Anderson's future.

Answer: Things got a bit messy toward the end of the year with some supposed
miscommunication about whether or not he was ready to be activated. The
bottom line is that neither side is happy, but there's likely nothing either
can do.

Anderson will be back for the start of training camp and he will decide with
his own play just how the Celtics will view him. With two years left at a
bit more than $17.5 million, he is the closest the club has to an immovable
object. The future is in his hands.

Issue: The draft.

Answer: The Celtics will certainly get some serious offers for their three
first-round picks, particularly if a parade of underclassmen and high
schoolers declare themselves eligible for the June dispersal. The Celts
might be tempted to take a faster route to contention than waiting on raw
talent.

It will be a tough call.

The feeling here is the Celts shouldn't move the picks unless they can get
more than one major player for their puzzle.