Re: How about this idea

[KK <6166kkver@umbsky.cc.umb.edu>]

R. Bentz Kirby wrote:

> How about this idea--We don't trade anyone for anybody and develope the
> talent we have this year.  Then when the year is up and there are free
> agents and trades to be made, we access the progress made by Billups and
> others and see what we can do to get a big bruiser who can rebound.

What if the right offer comes along? Should Pitino ignore it to "assess the
progress" and "develop the talent we have"? What if some the "talent" we have
does not (can't) develop? The Celts have been trying to "develop" the likes of
Michael Smith, Acie Earl, Montross, even Dee for the last decade, with the
Agitprop Minister Heinsohn spewing forth BS to calm the fans that were anxious
to get rid of these chumps.  The key, when you realize you've drafted (or got in
a trade or as an FA) a stiff, is to get rid of him before everybody in the
league knows it. Even M.L. knew it and was able to pull it off (of course, we
got lucky with Dallas's pick).

> A
> Paul Silas type, only 6'11" and weights 250 and can run the floor.  Then
> we get ready to roll with a backcourt of Billups and Mercer, Walker at
> small forward, Knight at power forward and who in the middle.

Knight couldn't play forward, never mind center,  in the WNBA. It is his
misfortune that, because of his height, he's miscast into this role. Worse
still, he has to be one of the main guys, a role he's even more unsuited for
than that of a F or C. He'd be fine as an nth guy off the bench for a contender
(e.g., the Lakers), coming in against the opponent's second unit as a very tall
shooting guard , but simply is not a big-time player. If he misses a couple of
shots in the beginning, his confidence is gone, and he's not even thinking of
shooting the ball. If he gets the ball for a lay-in, he blows it. And, since
he's got a boy's body (albeit a very long one), he couldn't bang bodies with
Tyus Edney. To be fair, he does get some rebounds and steals because of his
height, long arms, and decent court awareness, but simply is not a guy to build
around. If RP can get "Spoon" for him, I'll be very happy. Search for a
"foundation stone-type" F/C continues...
On the bright side, Billups, for all his faults, does seem to have that big-time
mentality. Perhaps its their respective college backgrounds...

> We have
> McCarty and Bowen coming off the bench as the 6th and 7th players plus

I'm expecting Bowen to be announced as the fourth team co-captain any day now.
And McCarty is the anti-Knight in terms of mentality: shooting about 5% for the
season,  seemingly has no doubts that he's gonna make the next one, three
pointer or not. Bad shot selection and shooting technique, but winner's
mentality...

> Edney for a point.  I think that could be a pretty good team if we have
> the moose in the middle.  I realize this idea would cut down on our
> general speculation, but what if?

It might (!) cut down on the trade "rumors" in which the Celts were about to
trade Charles Smith's old socks plus the rights to Ramon Rivas for Shaq, Eddie
Jones and Kobe Bryant. We could certainly do without that stuff. But neither
would it be much  fun if the trade moratorium were indeed what RP resolved to
do, because the team, "upside", "development'', "learning the system" and all,
is simply not good enough to win much with its present lineup. We need more than
a "moose in the middle" to contend - more talented players, not just more
"development".

K. Kveraga