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Wheelin' and dealin' Celtics get Baker, ship Anderson to Sonics in 5-player dealPosted: Monday July 22, 2002 3:43 PMUpdated: Monday July 22, 2002 7:37 PM
BOSTON (AP) -- 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 Sonics. The deal brings Baker, 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," Sonics head coach Nate McMillan said during a news conference 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."
The Sonics get 11-year-veteran Anderson, who had one of his better seasons as the Celtics reached the playoffs for the first time in seven years. Now Boston must find a starting point guard with only Tony Delk, who backed up Anderson, playing that position. Erick Strickland also saw action there, but he is a free agent. Potapenko, who spent the past 3 1/2 seasons with the Celtics, averaged 4.6 points per game last season. He is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery after getting hurt in the last game of the regular season and was expected to be sidelined six to eight months Forte played sparingly after being drafted with the 21st pick last season. He scored just six points in eight games and spent most of the season on the injured list after an outstanding career at North Carolina. Williams, 27, also played at North Carolina and was drafted in the second round by Chicago in 1998. The Bulls immediately traded him to Atlanta, where he played two games as a rookie. He spent the past three seasons at Seattle, where he has played backup point guard. He averaged 4.4 points in 50 games last season. The key for the Celtics was Baker, who could play center in an Eastern Conference without many good ones. Tony Battie was Boston's starting center last season.
Baker has four years left on a contract that reportedly pays him more than $50 million, a financial burden that makes it less likely the Celtics would re-sign Rodney Rogers, a midseason pickup who contributed to the team's run to its first Eastern Conference final in 14 years Baker, 30, is averaging 16.9 points and 8.2 rebounds in his career, which began with Milwaukee in 1993-94. He spent three more seasons with the Bucks, making the All-Star game in those seasons, then played the last five years with the Sonics. Last season he averaged 14.1 points and 6.4 rebounds in 55 games, 41 as the starting power forward. Those numbers represented a substantial decline from his years with the Bucks when he averaged double-doubles in points and rebounds in his second and fourth seasons and averaged 21.1 points and 9.8 rebounds in his third season. Anderson, 31, played 241 games with the Celtics after being acquired from Toronto on Feb. 18, 1998. He averaged 9.6 points last season when he focused on passing the ball to offensive threats Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker.
He has one year left on his contract at $9.185 million.
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