PADDIO, WHATLEY GET AXED

November 1, 1988

The team gathered in the usual manner, yawning and stretching, then plunking themselves down in a semicircle to hear the Celtic news of the day from coach Jimmy Rodgers.

The news? All they needed to do was look around them. Ramon Rivas was to their left, Ronnie Grandison to their right, and Gerald Paddio and Ennis Whatley were nowhere to be found.

"What it comes down to is feeling comfortable with the players you put on the floor," said Rodgers, shortly after announcing Paddio and Whatley were cut from the squad, bringing Boston to the required roster limit of 12. "We kept the people we felt comfortable with."

The departure of Whatley was expected. He is a journeyman point guard who was never considered a serious candidate once Brian Shaw proved he was a poised, legitimate first-round draft choice. As for the release of Paddio, it was anticipated, particularly in light of the past week.

Early in preseason, when Paddio was lighting up the veteran backcourt with long-range bombs, he was considered a definite keeper. But Paddio could not hit the jumpers during the exhibition games, and appeared confused whenever the team ran one of its set plays. Paddio shot 35 percent in the preseason (13 for 37) and committed 15 turnovers in 74 minutes.

At the same time, Grandison caught the staff's eye with transition skills, scrappy defense and cleverness off the offensive glass. When it came down to the final days, he stole the job from Paddio by outplaying and outhustling him when it mattered most.

Thus, while Grandison went through the weave drill at Hellenic College, Paddio hastily packed his belongings at the Howard Johnson's on Boylston Street and checked the airlines for the first flight home to Payne, La.

"I thought I did well," said Paddio. "But I also had to look at the team and realize there were three other people who played my position. I was fighting for a job in the 3 spot, and they have Larry Bird, Reggie Lewis and Brad Lohaus there.

"It hurts. It hurts a lot. But there's nothing I can do."

Paddio learned he was no longer a Celtic yesterday morning before practice. He returned to the hotel and called his mother, who "was hurting almost as much as me," he said.

He then left his room, where the phone seemed to ring every few minutes, and finished his packing down the hall where Shaw was staying.

"I just called my agent, Bob Woolf, and he's on his way back from New York," said Paddio. "His office wants me to stick around. But all I really want to do right now is go home."

He admitted there were days he felt like he was in a daze, and that he struggled the few times he was asked to handle the ball.

"I never thought of myself bringing the ball up the court," Paddio said. "I wasn't expecting to be a ballhandler. I expected to be a scorer.

"I don't think I hurt myself that much. My shots were there, they just didn't go down. When you go out and play well, they make the decision. It's out of your hands."

Paddio was popular with his temporary teammates, who poked fun at his naive comments and spacy personality. Yet they, too, took note of his inability to learn the system.

"I thought Gerald was a lock to make the team originally," said Danny Ainge, who spent extra time working with the No. 3 pick out of Nevada-Las Vegas. "Then we started running plays, and slowing things down at times, and he seemed to have trouble adjusting more than the other guys. I don't know why.

"Gerald can play in this league. He needs to make up his mind to go out and do it instead of saying, 'Well, I'm not very good at that.'

"I'm sure this is tough, but it could turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. A lot of guys have had long NBA careers after starting out like this."

Whatley, whose NBA career seems to be floundering, said he probably will return to the CBA.

"I kind of expected this," he said. "The odds were pretty stacked against me beforehand. I got a fair chance, but I've been around long enough to know the situation."

For Paddio, this was the first time around. That left him frustrated, yet not bitter yesterday.

"Jimmy Rodgers said I should be playing for someone," said Paddio. "He said I shouldn't give up, that I should keep on playing. I appreciated that.

"But there are no guarantees, and that's why I'm hurting. I want to play, and it doesn't matter now where it is. If someone wants me, I'm ready. And if not . . . well, maybe I'll go back and finish school. I only need nine more hours to graduate. Why not finish?"

"Gerald is a guy who needs to go someplace and play," said Rodgers. "He showed some offensive skills, but he needs some experience under his belt to round out his game."

For Rivas and Grandison, who had been nervously awaiting their fate, yesterday was a new beginning that each discussed cautiously.

"I still have two months before I really make it," said the 6-foot-8-inch Grandison. "And what I have to do in that time is develop some confidence in the coach. I have to convince him that he can take Larry out or Kevin out and I can do the job. And I have to stay ready."

Rivas, the 6-10, 260-pound center who earned his spot by playing mistake-free basketball, crashing the offensive boards and refusing to back down from physical play (are you listening, Randy Breuer?), said he is still "a little nervous."

"The battle doesn't end here," said Rivas, who will become a hero in his native Puerto Rico now that he's a Celtic. "They could still find someone to replace me."

Rivas credited coach John Chaney and his displined program at Temple as the reason he was able to make the squad.

"To come to a team like the Celtics, you've got to follow some rules," he said. "If you can't, you are out of place. Temple was a great place for me to learn those rules."