Vin waived (CNN news)

["Belanger, Roger" <Roger.Belanger@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Not sure if it's been posted yet, but here it is...

roger


Roger S. Belanger
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Celts begin process of terminating Baker's deal
Posted: Friday February 13, 2004 12:39PM; Updated: Friday February 13, 2004
1:04PM

  
Vin Baker had more than doubled his scoring output from last season (5.2 to
11.3) before he was suspended on Jan. 23.
Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images 
  -- BOSTON (AP) -- The Boston Celtics put Vin Baker on waivers Friday, the
next step in releasing the suspended former all-star from a contract that
would pay him $36 million over the next 2 1/2 seasons.

Baker was suspended indefinitely on Jan. 23 for violating a testing program
he agreed to last season when he left the team to check into alcohol rehab.
He missed his 10th consecutive game on Thursday night, triggering a clause
in the agreement that would allow the Celtics to release him.

By placing him on waivers, the Celtics initiated the process of terminating
his contract. Unless another team claims him before Wednesday morning -- a
slim possibility -- they can release him.

"Until the waiver process runs its course, the team will refrain from
further comment on this matter," Celtics spokesman Bill Bonsiewicz said in a
statement posted on the team's Web site.

Any move is expected to be contested by the players' association, and it
could wind up in arbitration. A spokesman for the NBPA did not immediately
return a call seeking comment.

Baker's spokesman, Jay Nkonoki, could not immediately be reached for
comment.

Saving Baker's salary wouldn't allow the Celtics to be a player on the free
agent market, but it could keep them out of luxury tax range.

Baker missed two months and the playoffs last season after he checked into a
Connecticut rehab center. He agreed at the time to follow an aftercare
program this season and submit to frequent testing.

But Baker failed to comply with the terms of the agreement at least three
times before he was suspended indefinitely last month. The agreement
dictated that only the doctor overseeing Baker's care could determine when
he's ready to return, but after the suspension reached 10 games, that
authority would transfer to the team.

In a statement issued late Thursday, Baker said he had done everything
required of him to remain in compliance with his program and awaited
clearance to play again.

"I am surprised and disappointed that I have not been cleared to play as of
today, but I remain optimistic knowing I have gone above and beyond what has
been asked of me during my absence," he said. "My representatives have and
will continue to communicate with team officials on my behalf, until I am
reinstated."

Celtics boss Danny Ainge said the decision was in the hands of the team's
attorneys.

"All I know at some point Vin could come back and at some point he could
not," Ainge said Thursday night in Chicago, where the Celtics lost to the
Bulls to fall to 23-31 on the season.

Baker's agent, Aaron Goodwin, has not returned repeated calls seeking
comment.

The 6-foot-11 Baker was the eighth overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in
the 1993 draft. He averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds over his last two
seasons in Milwaukee before he was traded to Seattle for the 1997-98 season.

His first season in Seattle showed only slight drop-off, and he was good
enough to be picked for the 2000 U.S. Olympic team. But by the time the
Sydney games came around, his play had deteriorated to the point where he
was rarely used.

Baker, who said he began binge drinking during the 1998-99 lockout, was
suspended Feb. 27, 2003, and didn't play again last season. But after
treatment he returned in better shape and determined to make it up to his
teammates.

He scored in double figures in 21 of his first 35 games, but then his
production dropped off again. He totaled just 12 points in four games before
being suspended for three games, then played in just two of the next five
games before being suspended again.


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