Judge: Shaw Must Honor Celtic Deal

Brian Shaw, the former UC Santa Barbara basketball star who was a first-round draft pick of the Boston Celtics in 1988 but who played for Italy’s Il Messaggero last season, must return to the United States and honor the five-year contract he signed in January with the Celtics, a judge in Boston ruled Tuesday.

Even so, General Manager Jan Volk said the Celtics can’t go into today’s NBA draft assuming that the point guard definitely will be on the team next season.

“It’s certainly a lot better premise to work from,” Volk said of the decision by U.S. District Judge A. David Mazzone. “Certainly, it’s not something we’re going to rely on totally.”

Shaw, who was in the courtroom, refused comment on the decision.

Il Messaggero has obtained a ruling from the Italian basketball federation that his two-year contract with that club also is valid and enforceable.

W. Jerome Stanley, Shaw’s agent, notified the Celtics by letter June 6 that Shaw intended to honor his Il Messaggero contract. The Celtics went to NBA arbitrator Daniel Collins, who ruled on June 14 that Boston had his sole rights and that he must rescind his Italian contract. The Celtics then sued Shaw to enforce that ruling.