May: The Messiah asnd Belkin Could Come On Board

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

We can only hope....

ON BASKETBALL

Deal may not mean new owners are done


By Peter May, Globe Staff, 9/28/2002

WALTHAM - There were two words uttered yesterday by the prospective new
owners of the Celtics that caused eyebrows to rise: additional
investors.

 There were two other words that immediately came to mind: Larry Bird.

That's because the single biggest impediment to Bird returning to Boston
removed himself yesterday from the picture. As long as Paul Gaston owned
the Celtics, there was no chance Bird would agree to work for him,
despite offers from Gaston in the mid-1990s. Bird then slammed the door
on any possible reconciliation by ripping Gaston in a Globe interview
while coaching in Indiana, and then again in his latest book.

Bird does not come to mind as an ''additional investor'' because the
word ''investor'' means someone who puts up some money. However, Steve
Belkin, the man who wants to own a team in Charlotte, N.C. - in other
words, a real investor - does. Belkin came close last year to purchasing
the Celtics, but the deal fell through. He said last night he hasn't
foreclosed the possibility of joining up with H. Irving Grousbeck, his
son, Wycliffe Grousbeck, and Steve Pagliuca, the three prospective new
owners. And where Belkin goes, Bird follows.

Belkin is an investor in Highland Capital Partners, which is Wycliffe
Grousbeck's company. He also knows the senior Grousbeck, who used to be
a professor at Harvard Business School. Belkin spoke to his class there.
Both Grousbecks spoke with Belkin before the purchase.

''Our first option is still Charlotte,'' Belkin said from Springfield,
where he attended the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies last night.
''But that hasn't been approved as a franchise yet and we haven't been
approved as the owners there. I haven't closed out the possibility of
[joining the Boston ownership group].''

Asked if that also meant Bird would join him, Belkin said, ''Absolutely.
I wouldn't do anything without Larry.''

Belkin said he thinks Charlotte ''is a better business opportunity'' but
also added that he and Bird both have ties to the Boston area. And the
situation in Charlotte is anything but a given. The city hasn't even
decided on a site for a proposed new arena. The NBA is insisting on a
new arena deal with a favorable lease as a condition of reentry for
Charlotte.

Asked about Bird, Pagliuca said, ''We haven't thought through the
specifics of that. But Larry Bird is one of the best basketball minds in
the country. We would welcome him to be a part of this.''

OK, then what does this all mean for Chris Wallace, Leo Papile, Jim
O'Brien, and the rest of the Celtics' basketball staff? Well, in the
short term, probably nothing. New owners tend to take their time.
Seattle owner Howard Schultz hasn't done much tinkering with the Sonics.
Mark Cuban has added coaches to the staff - not to mention countless
other inanimate perks - and pretty much kept things intact in Dallas.

''I've been through this before,'' Wallace said yesterday, referring to
franchise sales when he was working in Portland and Miami. He knows, as
does O'Brien and everyone else, that they all are expendable. O'Brien
has coached in West Virginia, Oregon, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio,
Maryland, Kentucky, and Massachusetts in the last 30 years. Wallace has
worked in Florida, Oregon, Colorado, New York, and California.

It was a revealing sight yesterday when Wycliffe Grousbeck and Pagliuca
joined Gaston on the podium to offer their thoughts on the sale. One
floor above them, hanging on every word as well as a railing, were
Wallace, O'Brien, and Papile, looking almost like kids at a parade. At
one point toward the end, Pagliuca recognized them and shouted, ''Great
job, guys. And we're looking forward to an even better job next year.''

The new owners praised the basketball staff on more than one occasion.
Pagliuca said, ''If it's not broken, don't fix it.'' He added, ''One of
the reasons I'm excited about this is that they have a great management
team in place. These guys have proven they can win in the NBA.''

They did last year. Before that, well, never mind. Gaston then put a
financial straitjacket on them this summer, and the result was the
acquisition of Vin Baker, his $50 million contract, and a new-look team.
Maybe that's what caused Gaston to sell.

Any time there's a change at the top, the underlings feel the heat.
Wallace, O'Brien, and Papile vindicated themselves last year when,
finally free of Rick Pitino, they put together a 49-win team that
advanced to the conference finals. That buys them time and credibility,
if nothing else.

But they've all been around long enough to know that it could change in
a hurry. Especially if it means bringing back Bird, who many feel should
never have left in the first place.

This story ran on page F1 of the Boston Globe on 9/28/2002.
) Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.