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Herren Heads To Boston

October 3, 2000 / 1:23 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Chris Herren is headed to the Boston Celtics as part of a delayed four-player trade, according to published reports.

Herren, a guard, and Denver Nuggets teammate Bryant Stith, a swingman, will be swapped for recently acquired point guard Robert Pack and forward Calbert Cheaney, sources told the Boston Herald and The Boston Globe.

Any deal involving Pack must take place 60 days after he was traded by the Dallas Mavericks to Boston, so the transaction won't be official until Oct. 16. The four players will work out on their own until then.

When asked if a deal was in the works, Celtics coach Rick Pitino said, "Yes, but this is a complicated one because of who it involves. Robert Pack is not here. The deal will be consummated down the road."

Pack was acquired by the Celtics from the Mavericks with John "Hot Rod" Williams in the four-team Danny Fortson deal Aug. 16. He averaged in 8.9 points and 5.8 assists in 29 games last season.

The 60-day rule applies because the salaries of all the players need to be factored in aggregately to make salary cap numbers work. If the Celtics wanted to trade Pack for a player with a similar salary, the deal could be completed immediately.

Herren, who was a high school star in Fall River, Mass., enrolled at Boston College in 1994. He suffered a wrist injury in his first game and missed the entire season. He later had academic problems and never played another game for the Eagles.

Herren transferred to Fresno State, and was drafted by the Nuggets in the second round in 1999. He played 45 games in his rookie year, averaging 3.1 points and 2.5 assists in about 13 minutes per game.