Providence's Austin Croshere is in the House

May 27, 1997

Rick Pitino said he has received some interesting offers for one or both of the Celtics' first-round draft picks.

How interesting? Well, the Celtics president and coach said they could be selecting third and sixth June 25. Or perhaps not in the first round at all. Based on the players the team has already brought in, a trade down seems a strong possibility.

Providence's Austin Croshere, a 6-foot-9-inch forward, was in town on Lottery Sunday, working out with Pitino for 45 minutes. He is expected to be available in the 10-to-early-teens range of the first round. The team also has worked out or plans to work out Michigan forward Maurice Taylor, Kansas guard Jacque Vaughn, and high school forward Tracy McGrady. Of those three, McGrady is expected to go the highest. Vaughn, for example, is often listed as the fourth-best point guard behind Chauncey Billups, Antonio Daniels, and Brevin Knight.

The team has workouts planned for this morning at Brandeis.

Shoe doesn't fit

Derek Anderson, who played for Pitino at Kentucky, was in town yesterday. But it had nothing to do with the Celtics. The 6-foot-4-inch guard was working on a shoe contract. He doesn't expect the team to call him in for a workout . . . John Kuester, fired by the Celtics three weeks ago, is in the running for an assistant coaching position with the 76ers . . . Dennis Johnson will be moving back to Orlando next month. He had no problems selling his home . . . Pitino said the team does not plan to conduct training camp outside New England next season. Last year the camp was in Greensboro, N.C. . . . There was a rumor that the Celtics were planning to add some black to their uniforms. That's not true. But since Nike is licensed to make the team's uniforms, look for a newly designed shooting shirt . . . Pitino conceded that San Antonio general manager Gregg Popovich is not likely to trade Tim Duncan. "Now," he joked, "we're trying to get David Robinson." . . . Despite the team's 6.2 percent overall ticket increase, the Celtics are expecting to have a season ticket base of about 15,000. It was just over 12,000 last season.