From: ellie@ora.com (Ellie Cutler)
Subject: X-man to Boston
Organization: O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 17:11:58 GMT


The Boston Celtics took the "best available player" theory to the free
agent market today, signing SF Xavier McDaniel to a 3-year contract.
Dressed in Seattle warmup pants and a Celtics golf shirt, the former
Supersonic, Phoenix Sun and NY Knick announced his signing at a press
conference this morning.  He will wear #31 (of ML Carr fame), and
arrive in town at the beginning of October.

This is not the first time Boston has gone after the 6-7 215#
unrestricted free agent (who Pat Reilly called one of the best small
forwards in the game).  Back when McDaniel left Seattle, Bird said to
him, prior to a game between the two clubs, "We tried like hell to get
you."  Could the signing of Xman be Bird's first official act in his
new capacity as evaluator of player talent?

Right off the bat, McDaniel gives Boston a tough, uptempo player and
scorer who can go out and get 40 on any given night.  This will pick up
Bird's scoring slack and take pressure off Reggie Lewis to take/make
all the shots.  Why this comes at the small forward position is a bit
of a puzzle, but a natural byproduct of the "best available" player
school of thought.  Would you rather have the first post-Bird Celtic
be the X-Man or Cadillac Anderson?  Also, the Celts are most likely not
done with their search for the true big man.

The biggest questions this signing raises are:  

Q. What do the C's need with another 6-7 man?

A. Filling up the SF spot makes it likely that Gavitt will try to move
Gamble without having to worry about picking up his scoring slack.  It
takes Fox out of the starting rotation - where I was really hoping to
see him this year, but Fox is flexible enough to play some minutes at
both PF and SG.  It also gives them the possiblity of moving Fox - not
a desirable move, but if it could help land someone like Charles Smith...

As Chris Ford says, it was only 10 or so years ago that people started
talking about players in positions.  Auerbach's philosophy was always
#1: can he play? can he get the job done?  The answer to Xman in this
is an unqualified yes. Like Fox, X can play minutes at PF to buy time,
press more, and make bigger people have to defend him.

Q. What about his knees?

McDaniel had cartilage removed from his right knee (nothing ever done
to left knee).  He has missed only 17 games in 7 years.  He feels his
knee problem is one he can live with while still maintaining his
effectiveness as a player.

Q.  Isn't McDaniel kind of a head case?

Players, coaches and media all agree on McDaniel's toughness and talent
as a player.  Having bounced around a few teams lately, he comes with a
questionable rap - much like Dennis Johnson (or Parish).  Dave Gavitt
insists the C's did their homework on this question - he talked
extensively to people around the league, spent a marathon day with
Xavier himself, and concluded that he's much like ML Carr: a tough SOB
on the court, but a gentleman and exemplary teammate off the court.

Mentally, McDaniel is one tough nut.  A bit of Bird's competiveness,
memories of ML Carr and Derek Smith. Something definitely lacking on
the current squad:  Lewis, Brown, Pinckney, Gamble - all gentlemen on
the court.  McDaniel has also never won a championship ring, a
situation I'm sure he would like to rectify.

Other thoughts:

There is also the bit about addition by subtraction.  Not only have the
C's gotten McDaniels, but the big, bad, swaggering (too big for their)
Knickerbockers have lost him.  Xavier expected the Knicks, after they
dealt with Grant's offer sheet, to take care of him.  They didn't, so
he left them for an organization known (according to X) among NBA
players as a class organization that takes care of their players.

At Witchita State, McDaniel was the first player to lead the nation in
both scoring (27.2) and rebounding (14.8).

McHale on the signing: "Great! Now we have two great postup players."
Gavitt: "Who's the other one?"

The Celtics now have two available slots: 500K and 312K.  They have 10
players signed to contracts (Bagley, Barry and Morningstar are not).

-- 
        Ellie Cutler

        ellie@ora.com               
        uunet!ora!ellie
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA