Payton Joins Celtics’ Camp

Any doubts that family concerns would keep former Laker point guard Gary Payton from reporting to the Boston Celtics vanished Monday when he showed up at training camp in Waltham, Mass.

There were signs he might refuse to report following his August trade to Boston after exercising a $5.4-million option with the Lakers in July.

“There’s always a lot of uncertainty when it’s flipped on you like that,” Payton, 36, said. “I had a lot of family issues that I had to deal with, a lot of things that I had to work out first, and I don’t know where everybody got that from because nobody heard me say that I wasn’t coming.”

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Scottie Pippen, 39, who teamed with Michael Jordan to form a tandem that drove the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles in the 1990s, is expected to announce his retirement today after 17 seasons, an NBA source said. Pippen, a seven-time All-Star, had knee surgery in December and played only 23 games after returning to the Bulls last season.

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Swingman Vince Carter, who demanded to be traded in the off-season, vowed to play hard for the Raptors, even though he still wants out of Toronto, saying, “I’m going to bust my butt for the Toronto Raptors until that jersey says something else. Until then, well that’s where I am.” ... After playing only 48 games last season because of a knee injury “in the worst season of my career, by far,” Philadelphia 76er guard Allen Iverson declared that he is 100% and promised to be a better leader and teammate. “Saying it and doing it is something totally different,” said Iverson, who will move to point guard with Willie Green moving to shooting guard. “I didn’t do a good job of anything last year.”

New Orleans Hornet owner George Shinn called Baron Davis “immature” and “a prima donna” but also said he was counting on the point guard to make the team succeed after a summer in which he demanded a trade. Davis said he did not regret his opinion that the team did too little to adjust to its move to the Western Conference. “I’m in this business to win ... and if I feel like things aren’t going the right way, I’m going to step up and address it,” Davis said. “I want everybody to know how I feel. I want everybody to be held accountable because I’m always going to be held accountable on the court.” ... Sacramento King center Greg Ostertag will be sidelined four-to-six weeks after breaking his right hand in a fall at home.