Rick Pitino, quickest gun in the East...

[Chris Littlefield <chrisl@mjr.com>]

Wow...

Hindsight may be 20/20 but most of Pitino's personnel decisions (outside of
the draft) seem to me to be rushed, ill-considered, and contrary to his
previous statements and assertions.  He's a great coach but I am in shock
at what has transpired this summer.

The goals and assertions pertinent to my points, were more or less as follows:

1) To devote his personnel moves to the acquisition of 3 All-Star caliber
players.  This was what he deemed necessary for championship-level success
in today's NBA.

2) To clear cap space for the pursuit of All-Star caliber free agents.  I
may have been off-base but my assumption is that he would angle to create
cap space for the summer of 1998.

3) On Draft day, he stated that while he had received multiple offers for
Eric Williams, that only something really big would pry Eric off the team.

4) To sign or trade for "power players", the quality centers and power
forwards so absent from last year's roster.

5) Healthy, durable, in-shape players.

WHAT HAPPENED?????  So far, Pitino's moves have made him into a big liar.
I had no qualms with this when he said he would be coaching Kentucky again,
then turned around and came to Boston, but frankly this is scary.  The
ramifications down the line are troubling from where I stand.

I think that since the Dino trade to the Sixers fell through, Rick and
Wallace have been scrambling.  As a result, their decisions have looked
rash, ill-thought out, and inappropriately hurried by the situation at
hand.

Let's do this chronologically:

1) The Dino Trade - This is the crux, from which all the other decisions
flowed.

	The Dino trade to Philly was supposed to bring in Cage and
Weatherspoon, ostensibly to play at the 4 and 5 positions, and, since both
are in the last year of their contracts, to clear $5.3 mil off the books
for the bonanza summer of 1998.  You get rid of Dino, limp for a year, let
the rookies come along, see if Brown, Barros, or Minor can be dumped in
similar fashion, then go grab McDyess or Smith.

	It all unravels from where Dino "fails" his physical.  My feeling
is that the Sixers bailed, using the knee to do so.  But that is
irrelevant. It happened, and everything else since has, I think, tied into
this first failed attempt to shake things up.

	Dino's relationship with the Celtics is shattered by what he saw as
a betrayal.  From the C's point of view, the best way to salvage the
situation is for Dino to go play in Greece, taking as much of his cap money
with him as possible.  Dino, who I do not fault for feeling like he got the
shaft, yanks the Celts around by dragging his feet, limiting their cap
flexibility to sign FA's at crucial times.

3) Draft Day - The Pippen fiasco.  Pitino lucks out of a disaster.

	Pitino at this point wants to save face.  So he reverses his
philosophy.  Instead of waiting one year, and developing the future, all of
a sudden he has to win NOW!  So he calls up Chicago and basically throws
himself at their feet for Pippen, who he thinks "has five or six good years
left".

	The angst created between Boston and Philly now becomes almost a
blessing in disguise.  Brown, angry at Pitino, gets wind of the Pippen
negotiations, and makes sure that the key for the Bulls, Van Horn's
availability at the #3 slot, never happens.  Uh!!! Take that, Mr. Choir
Eyes.

	Thus the Pippen deal falls through, and Billups and Mercer are
drafted.  Not my personal favorite decision but both players should work
out just fine.  This is retrospect, but if the Pippen deal had gone
through, with the C's mortgaging their future for what has since turned out
to be possibly damaged goods, it would have been a disaster.

4) Our Boy Travis!

	By this time, Rick's practically chewing his arm off in
frustration.  The Dino deal turned into a nightmare.   His blockbuster
trade for Pippen fell through, and all he has to show for his efforts so
far is one angry Croatian, a salary cap noose around his team's neck, and
two rookies that he made very clear were expendable.  Gotta get something
done, no matter the cost!

	Even if it means going against the very precepts he spouted so
patriotically only a few short weeks before.

	So he goes and woos Travis, who admittedly has shown signs.  Yeah,
signs that he can function as a backup 4/5, not a 35 minute/night starter.
I'm sure Rick will bring out the best in Knight, and I will be ecstatic if
Travis can go 30 minutes a night and average roughly 10/10.

	Meanwhile, the Dino negotiations are ongoing and, Rick thinks,
almost complete.  So, feeling the heat from other teams' offers to Knight,
and thinking that additional cap money from Dino's contract is only a
couple days away, he throws down the 7yr/$22mil on Travis' desk, who
promptly goes and spouts to the papers.  A week later, with Dino's
situation unresolved and not enough money available, with everyone
expecting something, Rick makes a decision, and the Great Purge begins. 9
players, including our Captain Rick Fox, who had an extension ALL BUT
SIGNED, for LESS money, are released.

	Rick Pitino got his big man, but at the cost of a 28-year old
veteran, the Captain, whose statistics last year are comparable, and in
most cases superior, to our new $26.5 million dollar man, Chris Mills.  But
Pitino was in the news, and had gotten a big man.  He was not thinking
future with this move, nor was he thinking All-Star.  I'm not sure he was
thinking at all, to be honest.

5) Declerq, Massenburg, Bowen.

	More size, more money in guaranteed long-term contracts.  As soon
as Dino's money eventually became available, Declerq, Massenburg and Bowen
were picked up.  This to me was a pretty decent move.  These guys are
filler who under Pitino will probably show much more than they have.

6)  The Eric Williams fiasco - the worst of all.

	WHY did this happen????   Eric Williams should have been a Pitino
poster-child.  He's 6-8, athletic, wonderful scorer, came to all the summer
camps and leagues, dominated.  Defensively he was a bit of an unknown,
since no one played much defense last year.  To his credit, he was also
forced to match up with much bigger, much stronger players.  It was
expected that he would play full-time at the 3 this year, significantly
changing his defensive assignments.  He also needed a jump shot, but
appeared to be demonstrating increased range at the rookie/FA camp.

	This makes no SENSE!  Why not just sign Ty Edney and keep Williams?
Why give up Williams for so little?  2 second-round draft picks for
Williams is just pathetic, indicative to me of rank, amateurish, stupidity.
Can anyone tell me that Williams was not worth at the VERY LEAST a
mid-level first-rounder?  What was SO pressing that this move had to be
made RIGHT THIS MINUTE?

	If they had signed Brian Grant and moved Walker to the 3, I could
have swallowed that, albeit chokingly.  If we had gone out and signed Dean
Garrett, who's looking for $2 to $2.5 mil, that would have been okay as
well.  But while I like Chris Mills and I think he'll be fine as a Celtic,
I don't think giving up Williams (geez, why not Minor instead????  Barros,
who Denver needs more than another forward???) is worth it.  All summer
long we've been hearing about upside this and upside that with Knight,
Declerq, the rookies, etc..  Rick Pitino deserves a smack upside the head
for this one.  Williams has much more upside than Chris Mills.  Period.

	Both Rick Fox and Eric Williams are better players than Chris
Mills.  If Fox signs with Cleveland I will be horrified at just how badly
Pitino has screwed the team.

	I have other things to say, but this is long enough.

Comments are welcome, but try to cut and paste your answers.  Replies
including the whole text will just clutter things up.  Thanks.

Chris