It's Beginnning To Look A Lot Like Jamaal Tinsley - Celtics Notes

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

Or as Mark J. Spears of the Denver Post says:

Boston is looking for an experienced collegian with the 10th pick and
possibly a player with long-range potential with the 11th.
(Gotta love Tinsley's career shooting average at Iowa State:
.387)

Chad Ford of Sportstalk also seconds the notion that the C's
are interested in Tinsley, by noting that they see a lot of
Andre Miller in him.

And Jim O'Brien emphasizes need to find
players who can make an immediate impact  in
Shira Springer's TSN column:

However, head coach Jim O'Brien has made it clear the one option that
the Celtics don't have is time. O'Brien has said that patience is
wearing thin from the ownership on down through the front office and the
rest of the organization. In other words, they don't want to make
another any more trips to Secaucus in late May. To avoid that they are
clearly looking for a player capable of making a contribution next year.
They might not mind a development project, but they don't want two or
three.

Jonathan Feingold of the Houston Chronicle tells us that
Chris Wallace has scouted Pau Gasol (18.5 points per
25 minutes of playing time in Euroleague games)  twice:

Spanish flavor -- The early suggestion that the Rockets are targeting
sweet-shooting 7-1 Spanish forward Pau Gasol for the 13th pick of the
draft is not without merit, but it's not terribly likely.

The Rockets were linked to Gasol because they had two scouts checking
him out two weeks ago. Gasol's season extends to mid-June so he will not
be at the Chicago camp and will not be available for individual
workouts.

But everyone scouts Europe hard now and Gasol is the top draft-eligible
player in Europe. Boston general manager Chris Wallace has seen Gasol
twice. Atlanta's Pete Babcock made the trek this month.

Gasol likely will be a top-10 pick and gone before the Rockets pick
unless they trade up. He might have to be a top-five selection for teams
to afford the $2 million buyout on the last season of his contract. NBA
teams are only permitted to pay $350,000 toward the buyout of the
contract beyond the formula for rookie contracts.


Peter Vecsey says Gary Payton is available, but wants a
contract averaging $17 million per year (leaves the
Celtics out). Says Miami's where he could end up for Brian Grant.


Steve Bulpett - Boston Herald
Talks about Kenny Anderson hanging around,
which is where he'll be, buried on the bench,
because he's not giving up his $19 million:

Hanging around

Jim O'Brien has said he expects Kenny Anderson to come back healthy next
season and be the Celtics' lead point guard. Anderson says he really
likes it here and that his comments intimating the contrary were the
byproducts of a frustrating season of injury.

The belief here, however, is that all concerned would like to cut bait
and explore other waters, and there's no question the Celts have a point
guard on their summer shopping list. But, regarding Anderson, the word
``moot'' hangs as heavy as the rain clouds over your holiday cookout
plans. Moving him would be so difficult, both club and player will
likely have to make the best of it.

Anderson does admit he would welcome a trade if he does not fit into the
C's plans, but making himself financially palatable for another club
could be costly. He's got a little more than $17.5 million left over the
next two seasons, and it's hard to picture him making that up if he gets
a buyout here and a free agent deal elsewhere.

As for sacrificing some monetary advantages to get to a place where he
will have a greater role, Anderson admitted he might be a little crazy,
``but I'm not stupid,'' he said. ``I've got to take care of my family.
This is a business thing now. And I've never said it was bad for me
here.''

But there were some difficult times, such as late in the season when
there was miscommunication over the team wishing to activate him from
the injured list. Despite that and reports around the trade deadline,
the Celts are not willing to part with top draft picks just to get him
off their salary cap total.

Anderson took steps to dull the sting of his late season commentary by
saying, ``If I was healthy, I probably wouldn't have felt that way and I
might not have even said the things I said. If I'm healthy, I'm playing,
and if I'm playing, I'm playing well.''

As for his prospects of leaving the Celts, Anderson pointed to the
summer of 2002 as the time when something could happen.

``After next year I'm going to have one year left, and you usually trade
a player if you're not going to get anything for him after the season,''
he said. ``If I'm playing well, I'll write my own ticket, I think. If
I'm not, then they might say, `Let's move Kenny. Let's get something for
him. Maybe he's not the same.' ''