"The Celtics have to file their roster by today, which isn't a real problem with the maximum 15 players already under contract. When all shakes down, it's most probable that rookies Brandon Hunter and Kendrick Perkins will join Chris Mills (out for the season with ankle problems) on the injured list."

The Boston Celtics will pick up their fourth-year on Kedrick Brown in the next couple of days.

``His agent's coming in town for opening night,'' Celtics director of basketball operations Danny Ainge said, ``so we'll probably do something Tuesday or Wednesday to get it done.''

If ever Antoine Walker had a catch word, "pressure" is it.

He shouldered too much of it in Boston. He won't carry nearly as much with the Mavericks. Walker, acquired in Monday's five-player deal with Celtics, is experiencing a change in expectations with his first uniform change in seven years.

One name to surface in the wake of the Antoine Walker-Raef LaFrentz deal is that of Tony Battie. League sources said yesterday that the Celtics had put Battie "in play" even before the Walker trade and that there was interest from Toronto and others. (The Raptors supposedly talked about Antonio Davis.) Yesterday, Battie's agent, Joel Bell, reported nothing new as far as he could see.

"I don't anticipate anything before the start of the season," said Ainge, when asked about any new deals on the horizon. "But that doesn't mean I'm not trying."

While admitting the club might not be as strong in the short run, Ainge, the new director of basketball operations, said he believes the move will pay bigger dividends during the course of this season and the coming seasons.

"Who would ever think you would have a chance to play along side Antoine Walker, Mike Finley, Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki?" said Antawn Jamison, who came from Golden State in August. "That's an All-Star lineup right there."

The Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics agreed on a five-player deal that sends All-Star forward Antoine Walker and Tony Delk to the Mavericks for three players, including Raef LaFrentz.

The deal also includes guard Tony Delk going to Dallas and Chris Mills and Jiri Welsch heading to the Celtics, who also will get Dallas' first-round draft pick in 2004

``Even last year I was watching the Celtics and I could see the offense was disheveled. Antoine was a point forward and he can handle, but he couldn't set the table and also look for his shot. So it made it look kind of out of order. I would come down and my presence could sometimes say things because teams would have to be aware of what I could do. I could set someone up or get my own shot.

    ``A team may not press me as much as they might press another guy. And I thought I set the team up very well when I was there, so I knew last year they were going to have problems. You can't just come in and make somebody a point guard. You're not taught that position; you've just got to know how to play it.''

"The ``new'' Vin Baker will have his public unveiling tonight just a short drive from his Old Saybrook, Conn., home. Coming off alcohol rehab, Baker will look to make a good second impression when the Celtics open their exhibition slate against the Detroit Pistons at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn."

There wasn't much peaceful dozing going on at the Battie and O'Brien homes Sunday night. Questions about renewed soreness in Tony Battie's right knee kept the sandman out of reach for the Celtics center and his coach.

    ``I couldn't sleep last night just thinking about it,'' Battie said yesterday, ``but after the reassurance from the doctor that everything looked well, I was all right.''