C's Talking Trade With Seattle

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

Hopefully they're smart enough to make the pick top-20
protected....

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/010/sports/Sonics_Williams_creating_some_interest+.shtml



Sonics' Williams creating some interest


By Peter May, Globe Staff, 1/10/2001


ALTHAM - The Celtics deftly executed their first personnel move of the
post- Rick Pitino era yesterday: They signed Milt Palacio to a 10-day
contract. His chances of staying with the Celtics for a second stint may
hinge on whether the team can complete a deal with Seattle to bring
Shammond Williams to town.


League sources say the Celtics and Sonics have been talking about a
Williams deal for some time. It is getting held up because the Sonics
are in the process of being sold. If the trade does come down, Boston
would have to part with a body (most likely Adrian Griffin) and a No. 1
pick down the road. Williams and Griffin are in the final years of
contracts.


Williams is a 6-foot-1-inch combination guard who has the speed and
quickness the Celtics feel they lack in the backcourt. He played a big
role for the Sonics late last season, including the playoffs, and was
the star of the Shaw's Summer League at UMass-Boston.


He played 31 minutes and scored 16 points in the Sonics' win last night,
but he has six DNPs this season, including last Sunday against Toronto.
Seasoned NBA cynics see DNPs in January and February and wonder whether
there's something more to it.


Williams is averaging 6.7 points and 2.7 assists in 18.6 minutes a game.
He is the fourth-most accurate 3-point shooter in the league (44.4
percent). He has fallen out of the Seattle rotation, however, behind
Brent Barry and Emanual Davis.


Williams was a second-round draft pick out of North Carolina (No. 34
overall) by Chicago in 1998. He was traded on draft day to Atlanta but
appeared in only four games and was waived. He also played that year in
Turkey. The Sonics signed him as a free agent in August 1999 and
re-signed him last summer.


Griffin, meanwhile, is due to go on the injured list today with a bad
back, paving the way for the activation of Jerome Moiso. He has been a
step behind all season and has lost his rotation spot to Eric Williams
and Bryant Stith.


Palacio was waived last Friday, eight days after his miraculous
game-winning 3-pointer in New Jersey. The Celtics have not won since,
dropping six straight while also losing their coach.


The Celtics are under no obligation to keep Palacio over the next 10
days. He can be re-signed to a second 10-day deal, but at the expiration
of that, he must either be signed for the season or released. But if the
Williams deal falls through, Chris Herren should be close to ready by
the time Palacio's second 10-day deal expires.