Russell Writing Book On Auerbach

Celtics' legend Bill Russell is working on a memoir about his friendship with the late Red Auerbach, according to The Associated Press.

"Red and Me" will be published by HarperCollins in Spring 2009.

"Arnold Jacob Auerbach passed on Oct. 28, 2006 -- almost 50 years from when I joined his Boston Celtics," Russell said in a statement on Monday. "I felt a tremendous sense of loss, a huge void in my life. There was an empty space in my psyche where a special person had been. I thought about that at Red's funeral. And the fact that there was no logical reason why we ever should've become friends because we came from such diverse places. I thought about how much I missed his friendship."