Today's Insider, with some Celtics nuggets

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm not going to comment, other than to say it sounds like the priority
is Brent Barry, and failing that, the Celts could go a number of ways -
most for picks/prospects.



Mark





# The chances of superstars like Allen Iverson, Steve Francis or Kobe
Bryant getting traded are slim to none at this point. If they need to be
moved (and the Philly media is already pushing AI out the door), then
the summer is probably a better time to weigh the offers.

# It's also pretty unlikely that we'll see Rasheed Wallace moved at this
point. While Hawks GM Billy Knight is claiming that he's narrowed the
field down to two teams, the three teams in the running for Rasheed --
the Pistons, Knicks and Mavs -- probably don't have what it takes to get
a deal done now. The Pistons have the best chance, but as Insider first
reported here on both Tuesday and Wednesday, they won't pull the trigger
until they find someone to take either Chuck Atkins or Corliss
Williamson off their hands.

As of Wednesday, the Pistons were still talking with the Magic, Celtics
and Bulls about deals for either Atkins or Williamson, but the hold-up
is that those teams want the same first-round pick (the one Milwaukee
owes Detroit) that the Hawks do to part with Wallace.

Joe Dumars has a magical way of pulling of miraculous deals, but it's
hard to see how they get both of them done together. If they can't, the
team's priority, as we've been writing for weeks, is clearing cap space
for Mehmet Okur.

The other suitors have a bigger problem. King wants expiring contracts,
draft picks and young prospects, and Dallas and New York have little of
either. Unless they can get a third or fourth team to take some of their
leftovers (Utah perhaps?) it's tough to believe that the Hawks will pull
the trigger.



What happens if the Hawks don't trade Wallace? Two things could happen.
The team could decide it doesn't want the distraction and waive Wallace.
After Wallace cleared waivers he'd be free to join another team, which
would likely be the Knicks. The other solution is to hold onto him and
try to work out a sign-and-trade deal this summer that gets Wallace more
money than he'd get on the open market.

# The other prize that seems to be highly coveted is the Warriors' Erick
Dampier. The team is trying to package Dampier with Nick Van Exel in an
effort to get cap relief. The Knicks have the most interest in Damp, but
again, can't offer the Warriors the relief they're looking for.

Reports out of New York had the team offering Kurt Thomas, Dikembe
Mutombo and Shandon Anderson for Van Exel and Dampier. I can't imagine
the Warriors biting on that deal . . . then again, we are talking about
the Warriors.

Memphis has been after Dampier since this summer, but as Insider has
already reported, the asking price is awfully high for Jerry West's
blood. As of Wednesday night, the Warriors were asking for Stromile
Swift, Jake Tsakalidis and Shane Battier for Dampier. That's a lot of
young blood for a center with creaky knees.

Detroit's interest in Dampier is more passing. The Pistons would try to
use him in a larger three-way deal to get more cap space. Something
could be worked out with Memphis here, but it would still likely cost
the Grizzlies Swift and Battier at the very least.

Despite reports to the contrary, a source in Indiana claims that the
Pacers are not pursuing Dampier.



Hot Zones
If none of the big, blockbuster deals are likely to happen, what is
going down? Right now you see a bunch of smaller names being floated as
teams wrestle for cap space, or the missing piece in a playoff run.

Insider takes a look at several trade "hot zones" that we'll be watching
closer as the deadline gets nearer.

Knicks: Even if the team can't land Rasheed or Dampier, we expect Isiah
to make one more move before the deadline. Teams like Kurt Thomas, Frank
Williams and to a lesser extent, Michael Sweetney. Isiah has even
received inquiries on Penny Hardaway and Shandon Anderson. Isiah is
always thinking out of the box and he's still not happy with his team.


Barry
Sonics: GM Rick Sund sounds like a guy willing to make a deal. As
reported on Insider on Wednesday, the team has talked to the Raptors
about a Brent Barry-and-Vladimir Radmanovic-for-Donyell
Marshall-and-Morris Peterson swap. However, as of late Wednesday, it
sounded like those talks have stalled. The Sonics have also discussed a
swap with the Grizzlies that would land them Stromile Swift and Jake
Tsakalidis for Jerome James and Vladimir Radmanovic.

The Sonics are still in the running for Juwan Howard as well, though
that deal appears to be less of a priority. The Celtics have made a hard
charge at Barry, but what they're offering, expiring contracts, doesn't
really resonate considering Barry comes off the books anyway. If the
Celtics were willing to offer Chris Mills and Chris Mihm for Barry and a
salary drain like Calvin Booth, Seattle might just get interested.

Pistons: Joe Dumars is motivated to get either Chucky Atkins or Corliss
Williamson off the books. Armed with two first-round picks, you've got
to believe the Pistons will come up with something.



Celtics: Danny Ainge is working the phones, and he has two coveted
pieces to offer -- the expiring contracts of Mills and Mihm. A league
source claimed on Wednesday that the team was considering a couple of
offers that would land it another point guard and a first-round pick.
There is also talk about the Celtics swapping Mills for Malik Rose. It
sounds like the talk about Juwan Howard coming there is pretty much
dead.


Davis
Blazers: The team would still like to move Dale Davis, Ruben Patterson
and even Damon Stoudamire. The thinking early on was that Davis would be
pretty easy to move, but the Blazers have hit stumbling blocks. Bucks GM
Larry Harris said that he will not trade Toni Kukoc for Davis. The
Blazers were also trying to get involved in talks with the Sonics and
Raptors, but haven't gotten anywhere there either.

The only team with interest in Patterson appears to be the Knicks, who
have discussed a Shandon Anderson-for-Patterson swap. Stoudamire will be
easier to move next year, though you wonder whether he might not be a
bad fit on a team like Boston if the Blazers were to send out a No. 1
and be willing to swallow the last year of Yogi Stewart's deal.

Magic: Juwan Howard, Gordan Giricek, Steven Hunter . . . actually anyone
not named Tracy McGrady is on the block. Lots of teams are interested in
Giricek, who also happens to be in the last year of his deal, but after
that things begin to wane just a little bit.

Sixers: Talking about trading Allen Iverson has dominated the air waves,
but don't expect that to happen until the summer. More likely are trades
that send Eric Snow or Aaron McKie packing. The problem is that their
proposed replacements, including Juwan Howard, Malik Rose and Jerome
Williams, don't really sound like huge upgrades.


Fizer
Bulls: By most accounts Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler and even Jamal
Crawford are safe. The center of attention is on Marcus Fizer, whose
contract expires this summer. The Pistons, Magic and Sonics have all
been mentioned as possible destinations.



Raptors: They've been busy trying to get something down. It seems like
they've cooled to the possibility of landing Brent Barry and Vladimir
Radmanovic or, in the alternative, Dale Davis and Radmanovic as part of
a three way trade. The Knicks offered the Raptors Dikembe Mutombo on
Wednesday if they were willing to be part of a three way deal that lands
New York Rasheed Wallace. It's still unclear why the Raptors would want
to help the Knicks do anything. The Suns are trying to get the Raptors
to take Jahidi White off their hands and may be willing to give them a
first round pick to do it. In every case, the expiring contracts of
Michael Curry, Michael Bradley and Morris Peterson appear to be the
bait.

Clippers: The team has been trying to get someone to take Melvin Ely off
their hands so that they can get further under the cap to make a run at
Kobe Bryant. Point guard Keyon Dooling is also available. Talks with the
Bulls seems to have fizzled however.

Nuggets-Jazz: Both teams have cap space, which allows them to facilitate
trades. The Nuggets have received a lot of interest in Marcus Camby and
Rodney White, but have been reluctant to pull the trigger unless
something blows them away.

The Jazz are trying to use their roughly seven million in cap space and
the expiring contract of Keon Clark to land themselves another draft
pick or prospect. The team has shown some interest in the Magic's Gordan
Giricek. The Suns (for Tom Gugliotta and first-rounder) right now seem
like the only legit contender. though the Jazz have the power to get
involved in potentially any deal out there.

Around the League
# Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said he's actually received a few trade
proposals that include Kobe Bryant. Here's his response. "Teams fish
around," Kupchak told the L.A. Daily News. "My response is, 'No, we're
not'. We're not going to break up the team. I wouldn't share any
conversations I've had, but we have not received an influx of calls
based on the perception that we're trying to move (Bryant) or that we
would move him. And to me, that just verifies our position -- that why
would you do that? Teams know we wouldn't do it."

# The Hawks waived Michael Doleac on Wednesday. The speculation has been
that Doleac, if he clears waivers, will return to the Knicks. But he may
not clear waivers. Two teams with room enough under the cap to assume
his contract, the Nuggets and Jazz, both have interest in the center and
may claim him.



The war over the termination of Vin Baker's contract, which happened on
Wednesday, is about to get ugly. The Players Association is in the
process of filing a grievance and both the NBA and NBPA are digging in
for a fight. Both sides claim that they're confident that they'll
prevail.

"We were advised we could move to terminate this player a year ago, but
chose to give him what has amounted to a year of additional chances,"
owner Wyc Grousbeck told the Boston Globe

NBPA spokesman Dan Wasserman had a different view. "With regard to the
termination of a guaranteed contract, it doesn't matter if it's Vin
Baker or any other player," said Wasserman. "The Players Association
will contest this as aggressively and vigorously as possible. We expect
to prevail as we have in other termination cases like this, such as
those involving Latrell Sprewell and Nate Huffman."

The issue is whether Baker's alcoholism prevented him from performing
under the terms of the uniform players contract. The Celtics maintain
that when a doctor failed to clear Baker for 10 consecutive games, that
he had run out of chances and could no longer fulfill his part of the
contract. The NBPA disagrees. Baker's agent, Aaron Goodwin, is claiming
that a number of teams have interest in Baker and are lining up to sign
him. If Baker was really unable to perform, why are so many teams
interested in re-signing him?

What both sides are really fighting about here is precedent. The league
would love to establish a precedent for terminating guaranteed contracts
when a player, because of substance abuse or lack of conditioning, makes
himself unable to play. The NBPA obviously wants this nipped in the bud
and claims that what the Celtics and league are trying to do is find a
way to circumvent the guaranteed provisions of the CBA.

All of this mess would be less sticky if teams weren't tripping over
themselves to sign up Baker for cheap. You have to believe that Ainge
and Grousbek are furious that teams aren't lining up in support of them.


"It's unbelievable," one league source told Insider. "No one should
touch this guy. It send every bad message there is. We should be lining
up behind the Celtics here, but greed always gets in the way. Look at
Eddie Griffin. We'll always take big risks for talent. But for Vin? I'm
not sure the talent is even there anymore. If a team really does sign
him, not only does it hurt the Celtics chances of prevailing, it hurts
the league."