MCDANIEL'S BUSINESS UNFINISHED

May 1995

Xavier McDaniel may well have played his last game as a Boston Celtic on Friday night. He still feels the fans here haven't seen the real X.

The Celtics have until July 1 to terminate McDaniel's contract. He would get a buyout figure (roughly $600,000) and leave the Celtics with a slot of around $2.6 million. There's every indication the Celtics are planning to do just that, despite the words of one executive who said, "We need more guys like X, not less." McDaniel would agree.

"It has been a rocky three years here, playingwise," McDaniel said. "For me, it was frustrating at times, but it was great at times, too. I don't know what's going to happen. You never know what's going to happen. But I think it's going to be a long offseason."

This last year was a roller coaster for McDaniel, starting with his ejection in the season opener. His iron-man streak ended at 350 when he missed a game against Washington Nov. 19 to attend the birth of his daughter.

He then went through the month of January as a persona non grata, registering seven DNPs in eight games. On the night of Jan. 17, the Garden crowd chanted, "We want X, we want X," as McDaniel remained glued to the bench. He played 25 minutes the next game and missed only two the rest of the year, both with a sore knee.

"I think the only reason I survived is that I'm a fighter," he said. "If I'm here, or somewhere else, I've got to slim down next year. But I do know this: I'm a much better player than I've shown here. I just never got the steady minutes that you need."