Re: EW and Mills and etc.

[Adam A Suchocki <Twilight@world.std.com>]

On Sat, 23 Aug 1997, Sashi Kumar wrote:

> 
> 
> EWilliams......May be Pitino was worried about 2 things....
> 	1] Does EW really have a Reggie Lewis like problem with
> 	his two dizzy spells last year.
> 	2] The large sum of money that EW's agent already had on
> 	the offer discussions or the larger sum he might ask next year.
> 
> 	We do miss EW; but with Walker, Mercer and Billups lurking for
> 	bigger money in the next few years, EW became expendable.

I agree Williams became expendable, but only in the terms that he was the
least important player who still had some significant trade value.  The
Celtics as a company are not hard up for cash, and could easily handle
paying all of the young potential stars (Mercer, Billups, Walker, and
Williams) when they were due for free agency.

A really troubling fact is that Williams agent says the Celtics never even
discussed resigning Williams for next season.  I don't think money was an
issue.


 
> C.Mills......The prediction and stats support this pick-up. Bird was
> 	keen on Mills [and even openly said that he wanted to play
> 	for Larry Legend]. But the trade didinot happen. Mills scored
> 	well on a pathetic scoring [boring] Cavs and did pull down a
> 	lot of rebounds for a 6'6" player. And he is great defensively,
> 	thanks to Fratello schooling.
> 	So Mills presumably is a nice & long term pick up.

This has some merit, but then again, Indiana chose Mullin over Mills (and
had listed Fox as ahead of Mills in some reports I read as well.
Throughout his career, Mills has been labeled an underachiever.  Cleveland
has not seemed very eager to resign him, despite having no money limits.
It makes me wonder if it was Cleveland who couldn't score, or the players
lack of talent.  Fratello didn't have any trouble getting his hawks teams
to score.


> My criticism is that we could have gotten something better for EW than
> two "?????". Unless there is an understanding with McDyess agent like
> Jaspinder stated.
> 
> We have to get rid of Ellison or at least Barros or Minor or all of them.
> If Pitino and Wallace could do it , we will applaud them.
> 
> Finally let us give Pitino a chance...let us forget the negative feelings
> in the locker room, including the fights and start afresh.
> 					Sashi.

Oops, sorry to reply to another persons posts with your letter.  I agree
with your sentiments on Williams, and I think Ellison and company should
probably be moved.  What I saw out of Dee Brown at rookie camp did not
impress me, and neither did Barros.

I'm willing to give Pitino a chance as a coach, but he has already lost my
respect as a GM.  Seems a bit like Bill Parcells and the Patriots.
Parcells is a great coach, but very weak as a manager.  his trades,
drafts, and free agents have often not even lasted a year on his team, but
he was very good at getting the most from his players.

Adam