Celtics Open Door For Ellison
The Boston Celtics made it official Monday, introducing free agent center-forward Pervis Ellison as the newest acquisition in M.L. Carr’s drive to revive the NBA’s most successful franchise.
Ellison is the fifth player Carr has added since he took over as the team’s director of player personnel. He got forwards Blue Edwards and Derek Strong in a draft-day trade with Milwaukee, and signed highscoring forward Dominique Wilkins and guard David Wesley on July 22.
Ellison, a 6-foot-10 shot-blocker who has battled injuries throughout his career, thinks Carr has the Celtics pointed in the right direction.
“Boston’s had a hard few years,” Ellison said. “But now with Dominique Wilkins, Blue Edwards and myself on the team, I feel we have the nucleus to become better quickly.”
Last season, Boston finished 32-50, 25 games behind the Atlantic Division champion New York Knicks. They missed the playoff by 10 games.
Carr thinks the trio of newcomers, along with No. 1 draft choice Eric Montross, a 7-foot center from North Carolina, already make the Celtics better.
“With the quality talent we now have, we’ll be able to compete every day in practice and on into the regular season and the playoffs,” Carr said. “People may think I’m joking, but we are changing things and now regard ourselves as a championship contender.”
Ellison could help a great deal by shaking the injury bug. His latest ailment was a bum knee that required surgery in 1993.
“I’ve had injury problems,” he said, “but I’ll spend the rest of the summer in rehabilitation. I don’t see myself as being injury-prone. When you count it, I’ve only had three injuries my entire career.”
Cooper arrested: Michael Cooper, the former Los Angeles Lakers star and current assistant coach, was arrested in Corrales, N.M., for battery and assault after threatening his wife with a vase.
He was arrested the night of July 27 after police responded to a domestic disturbance call at Cooper’s home.
According to a Corrales Police Department report released Monday, Cooper was arrested and taken to St. Joseph West Mesa Hospital for observation. He later was booked into the Sandoval County Jail and then released.
Cooper, 38, could not be immediately reached for comment Monday night. His wife, Wanda, said he was in Los Angeles. A Lakers spokesman said the team would not immediately comment.
Wanda Cooper described the dispute as an argument that escalated.
“They make it sound as if the man was absolutely killing me,” she said. “That’s not the case at all.”
She called her husband’s conduct completely out of character.
“Michael has never expressed anger like that,” she said. “This is a total aberration of who he is.”
West traded: Mark West, the Phoenix Suns’ aging center who in six seasons did not miss a regular-season game, was traded to the Detroit Pistons for second-round draft picks in 1996 and 1999.
West, 33, gives the Pistons a legitimate center, something they lacked all season.
The Suns are close to signing freeagent Danny Manning, making West expendable.
West is the Suns’ all-time leader in field goal percentage at .614. At .592, he also is the NBA’s all-time field goal percentage leader among active players, and he trails only Artis Gilmore’s .599 on the all-time list.