Vin Baker will be treated as much for a psychological condition as for alcoholism once a new agreement is completed regarding his situation, sources said yesterday. That care will be handled by the NBA, and any future fines will be paid to player benefit programs.

The reworked agreement should be completed within the next few weeks at the latest, and will bear little resemblance to the document signed by Baker under some measure of duress Feb. 27. That agreement purported to allow the Celtics to fine and suspend the backup center.

The club will be made to effectively divorce itself from the process this time around - to the point where it will not even receive the results of Baker's tests for alcohol where they are administered.

Drinking clearly was an issue for Baker before and since his arrival in Boston, but his problems with depression might be a larger matter. A source close to Baker said yesterday the weight of coming back to play in Boston is a heavy burden on the former All-Star.

``I know Vin has a lot of money coming to him (nearly $44 million during the next three seasons),'' the source said.
``But I wouldn't be totally shocked if he just walked away from it at some point if things got tough for him. That's pretty much what he did in February. He signed what they gave him so it would all go away.''