Celtics hope to catch falling stars

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Celtics hope to catch falling stars

by Steve Bulpett
Thursday, June 26, 2003








The Celtics will be gazing to the NBA sky tonight in search of falling objects
of their desire. With more than 30 names mentioned among the possibilities for
the first 20 picks, the club is hopeful the crowded field will mean two
players it likes will be on the board when picks 16 and 20 are due.



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Danny Ainge spoke Tuesday about Plans A and beyond, and yesterday the Celtics'
preferences came into sharper view.

While it is quite possible all three of their top point guards will be gone by
16, late talk of riders and sliders had them hoping that Marcus Banks or Reece
Gaines will be available at 16. The C's had dared to even talk about Texas'
T.J. Ford as his stock seemed to slip, but the thinking last night was that
he'd caught his fall and was again edging into the top 10.

Banks and Gaines are very different types. The former, while prone to mistakes
at times at UNLV, is the kind of push guy Ainge could use to alter the Celts'
offensive modus operandi. Banks can get the ball quickly from one end of the
floor to the other, and it is hoped others would try to keep up and get the
club some of those elusive easy baskets.

Gaines is more of a halfcourt scorer who needs to work on his point guard
skills, but he'd be tough to pass on.

Oregon's Luke Ridnour was assumed to be a lottery pick, but he's been
dropping, and the Celts might well let him drift on by, too. His defense is
being questioned, and that should send up a red flag for a team coached by Jim
O'Brien.

If the point guards are gone, the Celtics are looking toward a second group of
players - two of whom they would then hope to be available at 16 and 20.

Zarko Cabarkapa is a slim 6-foot-11, but he's become more and more visible to
teams in the top 10. The Celts like his potential (filling out his body) and
his skills with the ball.

Cabarkapa's teammate with Buducnost in Serbia, Aleksandar Pavlovic would be
next on the wish list, assuming a Nick Collison or Mike Sweetney doesn't fall.
Xavier's David West would have to be intriguing too. Pavlovic, a 6-7 wing, was
one of the Celts' early workouts, and his shooting impressed them a great
deal.

Maciej Lampe should be going higher, too, but the 6-11 forward from Poland
with size and small forward skills would fit Ainge's vision for a better
running team.

Jarvis Hayes is another swingman on the Celtics' radar screen. He's a strong
6-7 spot-up shooter who has looked good in individual workouts (in other
words, teams above 16 are interested).

Two high school products are also in the Celtics' sights. Ndudi Ebi, an
athletic 6-9 forward led his high school to three state titles in Texas. And
Kendrick Perkins, another Texan, is an intriguing 6-10 post player.

Most all of the above are projects of some sort, but with the draft growing
younger, that is to be expected even for the people at the top of the lottery.

Celtic notes

Barring an offer they can't refuse, the club has essentially put a stop to all
trade talk involving players until after the draft. It's still willing to
discuss moves involving the picks, but Ainge & Co. didn't want anything to get
in the way of draft preparation. . . .

Chris Wallace has pulled out of the running for the general manager's job in
Portland. The Trail Blazers were down to Wallace in their search but reopened
the process Monday.

``They asked him to keep his name in the process, but at this point we felt it
wasn't a good fit anymore,'' said Wallace's rep, Warren LeGarie. ``The job
description changed. At the beginning it was going to be a position with
authority. By the end, it was just a glorified player personnel director's
job.

``Chris is very comfortable in Boston.''

Nothing is presently cooking on either the Washington or Atlanta fronts for
Wallace, so instead of getting a No. 1 position in an organization he will
begin his new three-year $2.4 million deal here. . . .

Tickets for the Reebok Summer League will go on sale this morning at
celtics.com, the FleetCenter box office and 1-800-4NBA-TIX. The sessions at
UMass Boston are noteworthy because LeBron James is expected to be with the
Cleveland entry.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx

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