BOSTON (AP) Vin Baker's short, disappointing stay with the Boston Celtics is officially over.
The Celtics released Baker on Wednesday after the forward cleared waivers following his suspension for violating the terms of his alcohol treatment program.
The move terminates Baker's contract, and may allow the team to avoid paying Baker the $36 million he is owed for the remaining 2 years on his contract. It also is likely to initiate a showdown between the team and the National Basketball Players' Association.
The union has said it would file a grievance over any attempt to void the contract. But Celtics attorney Neil Jacobs said Baker was not ready to play as his contract required, and the team had a right to release him.
``He has not been performing and that is the basis of the decision,'' he said.
Jacobs added that there was ``sadness'' about releasing Baker, a Connecticut native whose return to New England was viewed as a sort of homecoming.
``The team had always hoped that the issues Vin has been involved with would be worked out,'' he said.
The team placed Baker on waivers last Friday after he missed the 10th straight game of his latest suspension for violating the terms of his alcohol rehabilitation aftercare agreement. That triggered a clause in the agreement that gave the Celtics control over his future.
Baker missed two months and the playoffs last year after he checked into a Connecticut rehab center. He agreed at the time to a follow-up program this season that would involve frequent testing.
Baker failed to meet the terms of the agreement at least three times before being suspended indefinitely Jan. 23. According to the agreement, only a doctor agreed to by both sides could determine when he was ready to return.
The doctor did not clear Baker to play before the suspension reached 10 games, and that authority transferred to the team, Jacobs said, adding that the Celtics did all they could to help Baker.
``It's difficult to imagine the team could have done more for Vin than it's done,'' he said.
The matter is now likely to wind up in arbitration. Billy Hunter, head of the players' association, said last week that Baker's contract is guaranteed and the union will fight any attempts at ``subterfuge.''
Last Thursday, Baker issued a statement saying he had done everything required of him to remain in compliance with his program and he was awaiting clearance to play again.
The 6-foot-11 Baker was the eighth overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1993 draft. He averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds over his last two seasons in Milwaukee before he was traded to Seattle for the 1997-98 season.
He was picked for the 2000 U.S. Olympic team. But by the time the Sydney Games came around, his play had deteriorated to the point where he was rarely used.
Baker, who said he began binge drinking during the 1998-99 lockout, was suspended Feb. 27, 2003, and did not play again last season. But after treatment he returned in better shape and determined to make it up to his teammates.
He scored in double figures in 21 of his first 35 games, but then his production dropped off again.