PHILADELPHIA — Golden State center Marc Jackson expanded his trade list Wednesday to include Utah, New Jersey, Milwaukee and Seattle, while the Boston Celtics pulled off a trade with Phoenix and acquired Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk.
Jackson has the right to veto any trade, and he has expanded his original list of three acceptable teams — Memphis, Indiana and Orlando — to include New York, Philadelphia and Phoenix, along with the Jazz, Nets, Bucks and Sonics.
"I would think there's a good chance he'll probably get traded. That's what he wants, and to a certain degree that's what we want," Golden State coach Brian Winters said.
So while it appeared that Jackson would get his wish before Thursday's 6 p.m. EST NBA trading deadline, the prospects of Nick Van Exel getting traded were dealt a serious blow when he refused to waive enough guaranteed money to satisfy the Boston Celtics, who were prepared to make a deal with Denver.
Van Exel had said he would forfeit some of his guaranteed $26.5 million over the final two years of his contract, which runs through the 2004-05 season
"What I can confirm is accurate is that Nick is not willing to give up what Boston is asking — guaranteed salary protection for two years," said Van Exel's agent, Scott Botman. "It's getting to the point where I'm doubting whether anything will get done."
With that door closed, the Celtics made a deal with Phoenix and acquired Rogers, a forward, and Delk, a guard, for rookie Joe Johnson, veterans Randy Brown and Milt Palacio and a Boston's No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft.
The deal gives the Celtics a pair of players who can score from the outside, one of whom, Rogers, also is a muscular addition to Boston's frontline.
Johnson, a rookie from Arkansas selected 10th overall in last June's draft, had seen his role reduced in recent weeks.
The surprising Celtics are in second place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 31-23. They are five games behind the Nets, whose president, Rod Thorn, has acknowledged that the team would like to add another big body.
That body could belong to Jackson, who sat out his 16th consecutive game Wednesday as the Warriors played Philadelphia.