interesting NBA notes

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

A few interesting things from ESPN Insider...

It looks like the Magic are out of the running on Antonio Davis. They can't
get far enough under the cap to offer him more than the $4.5 mil exception,
and Toronto won't cooperate on a sign-and-trade (due to hard feelings over
the McGrady thing). Davis' options are limited. Chicago has the cap room,
but he doesn't want to go there. The most serious bidder at this point is
Philadelphia, which would base a sign-and-trade around Tyrone Hill and/or
Matt Geiger. 

Also, the Chris Webber thing is getting really interesting. In case you
haven't followed it, things are getting sticky in San Antonio. David
Robinson doesn't want to take the pay cut the Spurs expected him to take to
allow them to sign both the Admiral and Derek Anderson. So the Spurs are
making a hard push for Webber (if they renounce Robinson, they have plenty
of cap room). Insider actually has NBA sources who claim Webber is down to
San Antonio and Sacramento, and is very intrigued by the idea of playing
next to Tim Duncan. The Spurs hope a long-term deal with Webber, who is much
younger and more effective at this point than Robinson, would help convince
Duncan to sign long-term when his contract is up in two years. Insider also
speculates that the Spurs, if they sign Webber, the Spurs would try to work
some kind of sign-and-trade for Robinson and Anderson, but I don't think
that's possible.

So here I am again, wondering about the Celtics' complete lack of interest
in any of this. The Spurs, who already have Tim Duncan, are willing to let
David Robinson go to get Chris Webber. The Sixers, who went to the Finals
and already have Dikembe Mutombo, are willing to trade key members of their
rotation for Antonio Davis. And the Celtics are satisfied to stand pat with
Vitaly, Battie and Blount. Seems to me some of the best teams in the NBA,
who already have great big men, are putting a premium on adding more great
big men. I wish the Celtics appreciated the need for size as much as the
Spurs and Sixers. I know, I know, we should be patient and wait for that
great big man to miraculously fall in our laps in the draft... right? Webber
and Davis probably wouldn't be interested in Boston, but shouldn't we be
trying? Where's the interest in Nazr Mohammed? I mean, just because the
Celts don't want to sign a free agent, doesn't mean they can't explore
sign-and-trades. I actually think a sign-and-trade with Atlanta for Mohammed
is very possible when you start discussing Vitaly. 

I just wish I saw some indication from the Celtics that they were concerned
with the frontcourt. Instead, we get the silliness about how Vitaly, Battie
and Blount combine to match most centers in the NBA. Please!

Mark