Baker Traded to the Celtics

The Boston Celtics acquired forward Vin Baker from Seattle on Monday in a five-player deal that sent point guard Kenny Anderson to the SuperSonics.

The Celtics also received guard Shammond Williams and traded center Vitaly Potapenko and guard Joseph Forte to the SuperSonics.

The deal brings Baker, 30, a nine-year NBA veteran, back to New England. He was born in Connecticut and starred at the University of Hartford.

The Celtics hope it will revitalize the career of the 6-foot-11 Baker, who played in four consecutive All-Star games from 1995-98.

“I believe the marriage between Vin Baker and the Sonics really had problems,” SuperSonic Coach Nate McMillan said in Seattle.

“He had lost his confidence out on the floor and just couldn’t get it back. We couldn’t take another chance on bringing Vin back and having him not want to be here.”

Without Anderson, Boston must find a starting point guard with only Tony Delk, who backed up Anderson, playing that position. Erick Strickland also played there, but he is a free agent.

Potapenko, 27, averaged 4.6 points last season and is recovering from knee surgery. Forte, 21, played sparingly last season after being drafted with the 21st pick.

Williams, 27, averaged 4.4 points in 50 games last season in Seattle.

The key for the Celtics was Baker, who could play center in the Eastern Conference. Tony Battie was Boston’s starting center last season.

Baker has four years left on a contract that pays him more than $50 million, a financial burden that makes it less likely the Celtics would re-sign Rodney Rogers, a midseason acquisition who helped the team’s run to its first Eastern Conference final in 14 years.

Baker, 30, averaged 14.1 points and 6.4 rebounds last season, a substantial decline from his years in Milwaukee where he once averaged 21.1 points and 9.8 rebounds.

Anderson, 31, averaged 9.6 points and 5.3 assists last season. He is scheduled to earn $9.1 million in the final year of his contract.

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The Toronto Raptors rescinded their $3-million qualifying offer to Keon Clark, making the 6-11 center an unrestricted free agent and almost surely ending his two-year stay with the team.

Clark, 27, averaged 11.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots in the final year of his rookie contract, which paid him $2 million.

“Keon deserves a fair contract,” Raptor General Manager Glen Grunwald said. “And a fair contract to Keon would turn into an unfair contract for the Raptors because of the very likely additional payments we would have to make for the luxury tax.”

As a restricted free agent, the Raptors could have matched any offers for Clark. As an unrestricted free agent, Clark is free to sign with any team.

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A judge issued a gag order in 76er guard Allen Iverson’s assault case in Philadelphia, saying he wanted to “buffer” prosecutors and defense attorneys from intense media coverage.

Municipal Court Judge James DeLeon barred police, the district attorney’s office, and the attorneys involved from talking to reporters about Iverson’s criminal case. He said he would revisit his decision after Iverson’s preliminary hearing, scheduled for July 29.

Iverson is accused of storming into a cousin’s apartment with a gun and threatening two men while looking for his wife.

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Milwaukee Buck forward Glenn Robinson apologized after being released on $5,000 bail Sunday on domestic battery, assault and illegal possession of a firearm charges in an apparent Saturday incident with his former fiancee in Chicago Heights, Ill.

“I’m very sorry for the incident,” said Robinson, who has an Aug. 19 preliminary hearing on the charges. “I regret any embarrassment to my family, my friends, the Bucks organization and Bucks fans who have supported me. I will do whatever is necessary to resolve this situation and move forward.”

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Veteran forward Danny Ferry, 36, re-signed with the San Antonio Spurs.... Utah Jazz doctors discovered some weakness in the reconstructed right knee of point guard Raul Lopez, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Spanish prospect from passing a physical.