Celtics, Nuggets Complete Four-Player Trade

Chris Herren and Bryant Stith were traded to the Boston Celtics by the Denver Nuggets on Monday for Robert Pack and Calbert Cheaney.

The deal had been agreed to a while ago but couldn’t be completed until 60 days after the Celtics obtained Pack from the Dallas Mavericks in a four-team trade.

The Nuggets also said they had picked up options on the fourth year of the contracts of center Raef LaFrentz and Keon Clark. Both are third-year players.

Herren, 25, averaged 3.1 points in 45 games for Denver. Stith, a 29-year-old swingman, had spent all eight of his NBA seasons with Denver but he has not played more than 52 games in any of the last four seasons because of injuries.

Pack, 31, was obtained by the Celtics in a trade that sent power forward Danny Fortson to Golden State. Cheaney, a 29-year-old swingman, was a disappointment in his only season with the Celtics, averaging 4.0 points.

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Minnesota Timberwolves forward Joe Smith was present at a New York hearing with the NBA to decide whether his alleged secret contract violates the league’s salary cap. A second hearing will be held Friday and an arbitrator will then have 30 days to rule.

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Referee Bennett Salvatore, 50, was sentenced in New Haven, Conn., to a year of probation, 150 hours of community service and fined $500 for his role in an airline ticket scam. . . . Dallas exercised its option for a fourth year on forward Dirk Nowitzki’s contract. . . . Philadelphia’s Tyrone Hill and Toronto’s Charles Oakley were ejected before the 76ers’ 107-98 exhibition victory over the Raptors at Chapel Hill, N.C. The two exchanged words at midcourt three minutes before tipoff, and Oakley hit Hill in the face before the two were separated.