Celtics Trade Mercer in Six-Player Deal

Boston Celtic Coach Rick Pitino saw a tremendous upside in swingman Ron Mercer, just as Denver Nugget General Manager Dan Issel did in forward Danny Fortson.

But both players posed signability problems for their respective teams, and so they were traded Tuesday in a six-player deal.

Mercer, 23, went to Denver along with Popeye Jones, 29, and Dwayne Schintzius for Fortson, 23, Eric Williams, 27, and Eric Washington, 25. The Celtics also will receive a first-round draft choice in one of the next four years.

The Nuggets also announced they re-signed point guard Nick Van Exel, 27, and signed free-agent forward George McCloud, 32.

Mercer and Fortson were the key players in the deal.

Pitino, who coached Mercer at Kentucky and during his first two years in the NBA, shares the leaguewide consensus that Mercer is a future star.

But after Mercer told Pitino what it would cost to re-sign him, the coach decided the Celtics couldn’t afford him.

“We had no desire to trade Ron Mercer,” Pitino said in Boston. “I could not even come close to the numbers Ron Mercer wanted as a basketball player.”

Mercer, a 6-foot-7 forward who averaged a career-high 17 points for Boston last season, can be a free agent next year, and indicated he wouldn’t re-sign with Boston if he wasn’t given an extension this summer, Pitino said.

Though reluctant to give up Mercer, Pitino believes the imposing 6-7, 260-pound Fortson is a good fit for the Celtics, who are trying to change their philosophy from one of offense-oriented finesse to a more “tough-minded” approach.

“We had to shore up our front court,” Pitino said. “We’ve done that.”

Although Mercer primarily played shooting guard for the Celtics, Issel projects him as a small forward in the Nuggets’ system.

“Ron can get up and down the court,” Issel said. “He can defend, and he’s bigger than most people think. He elevates on his jump shot, and he can shoot over any small forward. I think he has a chance to really be an outstanding player.”

Meanwhile, Celtic forward Tony Battie, 23, pleaded to “sufficient facts” in an April 17 case in which he was accused of dragging a police officer behind his car.

While not an admission of guilt, the plea acknowledges the case would have been made against him, according to Jim Borghesani, spokesman for the Suffolk County district attorney’s office.

Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville continued the case without a finding for a year. If Battie is arrested during that time, the case can be reopened.

*

The Orlando Magic traded guard Nick Anderson, the only remaining member of the original expansion team, to the Sacramento Kings for guard Tariq Abdul-Wahad, 24, and a future first-round draft pick.

The Kings also retained two free agents, signing multiyear contracts with guard Jon Barry and forward-center Scot Pollard.

Anderson, 31, has averaged 15.4 points in 10 seasons.

“We get a big-time two guard that’s still in the prime of his career, that has a good relationship with some of our best players, wanted to be here, and has always played on winning teams, pretty much” said Geoff Petrie, King vice president of basketball operations.

The Magic also re-signed forward-center Bo Outlaw, 28. Outlaw will have full Larry Bird rights next summer, meaning the Magic will be able to exceed the salary cap to re-sign him again.

*

Forward-center Jamie Feick, 25, signed a six-year contract worth a reported $15 million with the New Jersey Nets as the team also waived injury-prone veteran center Rony Seikaly, 34, who has one-year left on his contract.