MCDANIEL STILL PINING FOR MINUTES

February 20, 1995

The trading deadline is Thursday. The Celtics' Xavier McDaniel wants it known that nothing has changed. He wants more time -- or he wants out.

In the last two games, McDaniel has been rewarded with more minutes, temporarily satisfying him. He played 28 minutes Friday against the Clippers and 35 Saturday against the Jazz. After both games, he was singled out by coach Chris Ford for working and playing hard.

"You would hope it would rub off on some of his teammates, but it hasn't," Ford said.

And that is precisely why McDaniel is still in a stew, well past the middle of the season.

"I see guys on this team out there who are not busting their butts," he said yesterday. "And I wonder why it is that I'm not playing. Over the last six or seven games (prior to Utah), I've played about 12 minutes a game (actually 17). I think I'm a better player than that and I deserve more playing time."

McDaniel is not making any new declarations; he has been on the record for some time that he was told he'd either play or be traded. But with the deadline approaching, and his time still not to his liking, the whole issue is worth revisiting.

The Celtics and Bullets discussed a McDaniel-for-Kevin Duckworth deal, but Boston decided against it. There also was mention of McDaniel in a three-way deal involving Duckworth and Reggie Williams, but M.L. Carr said that was not even discussed and would not work under the salary cap. Carr always has been a big McDaniel supporter, liking his work ethic and the fact that McDaniel is popular with his teammates. Carr also knows that the Celtics can buy McDaniel out at the end of the season for $1.3 million, thereby opening a salary cap slot of $2.66 million.

McDaniel was asked if he would demand a deal. He shook his head.

"I can only sit back and see what happens," he said. "My agent (David Falk) told me there are some possibilities, but who knows? There's nothing I can do about it. I always tell kids, 'Don't worry about things you cannot control.' I'm not in control of whether I stay or go. Or if I play or don't play.

"If I stay here, I'll keep doing what I've always been doing, which is to work hard every day. If another team would like to have me, I hope they give me the opportunity. When I've gotten minutes, I've done a pretty good job in my time out there."

McDaniel had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists against the Jazz. He has played 25 or more minutes in 12 games, and in those games he is averaging 14.2 points and 5.8 rebounds, significantly higher than his overall averages of 8.4 points and 4.1 rebounds.

McDaniel said he cannot understand why lately his minutes haven't increased now that two small forwards have been removed from the mix (Blue Edwards via trade and Rick Fox via injury). In addition, Dino Radja has struggled defensively on this trip, to the point where Radja played only 22 minutes against the Jazz.