Stop spreading the news

You know the old saying: There's no such thing as bad publicity. (Except for your own obituary, as Brendan Behan noted.)

Yet even for the publicity-starved Celtics, last week presented a couple of occasions when silence would have been golden. There was the ridiculous scene in New York following Sebastian Telfair's necklace theft, with Doc Rivers telling reporters Telfair had a stomach bug, while he in fact was trying to pick out the thief in the police lineup. Then there was owner Wyc Grousbeck going on the radio and telling thousands of WEEI listeners that there was a settlement offer in the Tony Allen case. Later, after checking with a number of sources, no one could vouch for that.

And though no one misspoke about this situation -- we surmise, anyway -- Sports Illustrated's NBA preview issue arrived with the grim forecast of a 14th-place finish for the Celtics in the 15-team Eastern Conference, ahead of only Atlanta. That's right, behind Charlotte, Philadelphia, Toronto, and the Knicks. (The Celtics were picked to win the ACC in the magazine's college basketball preview.)

The Telfair situation was so haplessly handled you'd have thought it had been choreographed by the folks at Comedy Central. Only Telfair knows what he did after he was robbed. For his sake, and the Celtics' sake, let's hope he did what he said he did.

But for Rivers, who is as media savvy and accommodating as they come, to flat out lie about the situation was mind-boggling. Grousbeck was rightly upset at the way Rivers handled it. As Grousbeck has subsequently said, you either tell the truth or you say you can't comment. You don't lie and then pass the lie along to your television broadcasters and newspaper beat writers.

Then again, this isn't the first time the Celtics have said one thing and a player did something quite different. Two years ago, we were all told that Gary Payton missed practice to fly to California to be with his sick mother. It made for good copy, except it wasn't true. Payton instead went to New York and was seen partying in the W Hotel.

Regarding the Allen situation, here's what Grousbeck told John Dennis and Gerry Callahan Thursday morning: "As I understand it, there's sort of a settlement offer on the table that settles everything. But it's not the right offer. I think it's moving in the right direction of going away."

I sent Grousbeck an e-mail asking for an explanation, given the number of sources who said they knew of no such settlement being on the table. (And, in a criminal case, it normally would be a plea bargain.) I never got an answer. There also was no indication from Allen's attorney that the case is going away any time soon. He said he is hoping that a trial date is set next month.

Allen's legal situation is unlikely to be resolved by the end of the month, which is when the team must decide whether to extend his contract to a fourth year. Asked last week why Allen had not been extended, Danny Ainge said, "We're evaluating our whole team." But you have to think they have a pretty good feel for the kid's game by now. And he has stayed out of trouble.

One possibility is that they're trying to move him, along with a bigger contract (such as Theo Ratliff, for instance) for a veteran. And Allen could be more appealing without an extra year (at around $1.8 million). Another possibility is they've already decided they don't want to extend him. The team waited until Oct. 29 last year to announce it was not picking up Marcus Banks's fourth-year option. But there was little mystery to that move because Banks was hurt at the time and was the fourth-string point guard.

As for the prediction of finishing 14th, that seems unduly harsh. No one is expecting the Celtics to challenge Miami for the conference crown, and merely making the playoffs is the unstated goal. But worse than the Sixers? Or the Bobcats? The good thing for the Celtics: The Atlantic Division is, once again, undeniably the worst in the East. "Having seen them, I am not afraid of the Nets, Knicks, Raptors, or Sixers," Grousbeck said on the radio. "Bring 'em on."

Now that's the kind of publicity we like.

Where will they play zone?

Last week, we were told by FIBA that there would be an announcement Oct. 16 that would confirm the site for next summer's Olympic zone qualifier. Didn't happen. All we have learned is that it will be San Juan (site of the 1999 and 2003 zone qualifiers) or Las Vegas (site of, well, you name it).

USA Basketball trained in Las Vegas this summer prior to heading to Japan for the world championships and the city knows how to handle these kinds of events. (It also will host the All-Star Game in February.) San Juan is the home base for FIBA Americas, which will run the event. Venezuela removed itself from the picture by first submitting a bid that didn't meet the minimum requirement and then, given a second chance, submitting no bid at all.

A decision should come soon; we hesitate to say just when. (Maybe we'd feel safer if there wasn't a link on the FIBA Americas website to win tickets to the 2006 world championships, which ended Labor Day weekend.) The qualifier will be held in August with the winner and runner-up earning berths to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Ex-Eagle Smith scouts out a spot

Sounds like former Boston College Eagle Craig Smith has found a home with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Smith was drafted by the Wolves in the second round, 36th overall, and it appears this is another case (see Gomes, Ryan) of a guy drafted low who is taking advantage of four years in college.

"Craig is really going to be a part of our plans," said coach Dwayne Casey. "He has earned anything he's gotten through training camp and every day he does something [and we say], `Whoa, where did that come from?' So, at the four position, he's solid. I had question marks whether he could rebound with longer, taller guys. He's done that. I had questions whether his foot speed would be quick enough to go by people on the perimeter -- he's done that. He's done everything we've asked of him, plus just his overall feel for the game has been [good]. He's done a good job of passing the ball, reading defenses, and he's always where he's supposed to be, and I attribute that to maturity and just his four years at Boston College."

Casey reiterated that Minnesota was surprised to see Smith available at No. 36. "I told Craig, `Don't worry about where you were drafted, it's where you finish,' " said Casey, who never played in the NBA. "He's going to have a long career in the NBA."

Etc.

Yet another honor is in store for Celtics patriarch Red Auerbach. Wednesday, Auerbach is scheduled to be one of three recipients of the "Lone Sailor Award" from the United States Navy Memorial. The award is given to "veterans who have distinguished themselves in their respective careers while exemplifying the core values of honor, courage, and commitment." Auerbach, who turned 89 last month, served in the Navy in World War II, working stateside while developing physical fitness regimens and -- surprise, surprise -- coaching base basketball teams. Among the players he coached while serving in the Navy was Red Holzman, and among those who were with him in instructor's school was Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky. The other two honorees are retired Admiral William Crowe and Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii. Not the king of bling Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck vented on the radio last week when he felt there was too much disparaging talk about Sebastian Telfair's necklace, supposedly worth $50,000. After finishing discussing L'Affaire Telfair, he called WEEI a second time to note that, in his opinion, no athletes wear more jewelry than David Ortiz and Daniel Graham, both occasional visitors to Celtics games. He said both men wear so much that they "cannot move" and that Ortiz, who has asked for (and received) tickets to Opening Night, "will be wearing more platinum than you've ever seen in your life." Grousbeck said he thought it was unfair that Telfair was being singled out for his taste in jewelry, adding that Telfair "is not the only professional athlete who wears a necklace." Coach won't pass While many in Heat Nation waited for Pat Riley to make it public about coaching this season, the man himself knew early on he was coming back. But he is making no such promises beyond this year. "I can't promise my owner or myself that I'm going to do it longer than this year, but I think at my age and after 25 years, that's the way I'm going to handle the situation," the 61-year-old Riley said. "Right now, my energy is good, my health is good, and we are working every day to try and improve the team and get our team ready by Oct. 31." Riley said he thought it was his responsibility to coach the team. "Plus, I wanted to do it and try to defend the title with a bunch of guys I had picked," he said. The Heat are basically the same team from a year ago; of the 13 players on their playoff roster from last season, only two, Shandon Anderson and Derek Anderson, are not with the team this year. Pitching a rotation Paul Pierce is still waiting for some of his young teammates to be more consistent and reliable so the Celtics can go forward with a set rotation. And if not? "You either solve it with trades or if someone stands out," he said. "Right now, nobody has really stood out, so who knows? It's hard right know. I see a starting lineup of me, Wally [ Szczerbiak], Sebastian [ Telfair] and [Ryan] Gomes and either Perk [Kendrick Perkins] or [Michael ] Olowokandi. But after that, as far as rotation guys, no one has stood out. One guy plays well one night and then another guy plays well. We have to figure it out. Until we do, it's going to be whoever has got it going, or you narrow it down with a trade. That's what happens when you are in rebuilding mode." Did he say the dreaded R-word? He did, indeed. "When you have so many young players, seven, eight, nine guys who haven't established a [reputation] in the league, or established themselves as [to] what they're going to be, it's pretty much still rebuilding," Pierce said. Growing into role Darko Milicic is still very much a work in progress, but is he the NBA equivalent of the Big Dig? Orlando coach Brian Hill thinks not and points to a new-look Darko who arrived at the Magic's camp. "I think physically I saw a good improvement just in his body," Hill said of the 7-foot Serb, who played well for the national team at the recent world championships, averaging 16.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, and a tournament-best 2.8 blocked shots a game. (He went for 24 and 12 against Argentina.) "He's a little bigger, a little stronger. He worked very hard on the weights this summer. I think it's helped him with trying to be a little bit more of a factor in the low post. I think the offseason, playing with his national team definitely helped him." Gold Nugget? Here's a name to remember: Yakhouba Diawara. No, he's not the San Antonio Spurs' 2003 second-round pick. He's a free agent trying to make the Nuggets, and coach George Karl thinks the kid's defense could land him a spot on the final roster. The Nuggets brought Diawara, who played collegiately at Pepperdine and Southern Idaho JC, to their summer league and signed him after what they saw as an impressive outing. The play has continued into veterans camp. "I think the best way I can say it is that he is in the running to be a starter on our team," Karl said. "He's a kid that, I think, has a very competitive personality, loves to play defense, and is getting better every day offensively, even though that's probably his weakest area. And just his toughness and competitiveness will give him an opportunity to play. The guy who kind of was our defender last year, Greg Buckner, signed with Dallas, and we're looking at Yakhouba to kind of be a defensive specialist and then, hopefully, on a weekly basis, get better offensively." Diawara, 24, is a native of France and played three seasons in Dijon before and after his days at Southern Idaho and Pepperdine.

Peter May can be reached at P_May@globe.com; material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.