Re: Tempered Optimism

["Timothy Jordan" <patsrule90@geocities.com>]

> Although I still have a lot of hope that Pitino's intensity and work 
> ethic will translate into a strong team and a lot of wins in the next 
> couple of years, I'm starting to have second thoughts about the idea of 
> making him in charge of all personel moves as well.  Although he hasn't 
> screwed up majorly, he is already showing signs of possible big trouble 
> on the horizon (Note I said possible, until he actually does serious 
> harm or good, I'll remain cautiously hopefull).
> 
> The following moves as GM have been very troubling:
> 
> 1.  The whol Dino Radja incident.  Trading him is not a bad thing if you 
> are looking at improving the team over the next several years at the 
> expense of the present (which most agree the Celtics need to do) - but 
> mishandling Dino, creating a confrontational situation in Philly that 
> may have resulted in them trying to screw us back, and making unfounded 
> statements about Dino's health only to back off at the last minute 
> because his lawyers tell him he has no chance of winning hurt the team. 
>  They killed any trade value Dino might have, and probably destroyed any 
> value he might have to the franchise as a player.  If Dino and the team 
> make up, or Dino goes back to Europe, things are saved.  But this has 
> potential to result in the team being worse off than they were before 
> Pitino started with the trade.  Better management skills in dealing with 
> players would have helped a lot.

I have the same bad feeling about the trade.  It was a good trade idea but
I've never heard of a player controlling whether he is traded or not.  It
makes me wonder, with Pitino's inexperience to the NBA and Chris Wallace's
first stint at GM, whether they made some blunder in the technical issues. 
I've never heard of the kind of problems that happened.
 
> 2.  David Wesley is gone and we got nothing.  Pitino stressed repeatedly 
> that money was the reason we weren't aggressively persuing him, and he 
> suggested at numbers on the order of 3+ million a year being a stumbling 
> block.  Instead Wesley signed with a team for 1.75 this year.  The 
> smarter move would have been to sign Wesley at that price and then trade 
> him to a team of his choice after Billups learned enough to start, or 
> after Billups won the job at rookie camp or pre-season (if Billups is 
> that good).  Wesley said he signed so quickly and for less than expected 
> because he felt unwanted in Boston (because Pitino wouldn't talk about 
> him straight in public or private) and because he wanted to make sure he 
> played where he was wanted for a good salary without risking it all by 
> holding out for a big salary.  Wesley has been the hardest worker and 
> the most complete player on the Celtics for the last two years.  With 
> better player management skills the Celtics could have either had him 
> for a good price, or gotten something in return.  It may have failed, 
> and Wesley may have signed with Charlotte anyway (but for more money 
> becuae Boston was competing) - but taking the time to deal with Wesley 
> before the free agent period (and at least talk to him about options) 
> would have been worth a try (and Wesley made it clear that Pitino pretty 
> much ignored him even though he has been in Boston all summer playing in 
> a pro-am league and working out).

I disagree with you on this one.  Wesley has been the best player on the
Celtics the last few years, but that isn't saying much.  He is a good
player, but Billups will be a great player.  Wesley is too short while
Billups brings decent size to this team.  Pitino probably would've taken
Van Horn if Philly took Billups, which probably would've brought Wesley
back, but that never happened.  I'm glad that the Celtics took Billups
rather than taking a not-so-talented player in Tony Battie.  I would have
like to see Wesley back but I think Billups is an improvement.  
 
> 3.  The Scottie Pippen deal would have ruined any chance of getting a 
> title in the next 5 years.  Depending on who's account you believe, 2 or 
> 3 first round picks plus Williams and maybe Walker would have been 
> dealt.  Even half of that package hurts the team too much, and at best 
> we would have won a round or two in the playoffs over the next two or 
> three years, and then been worse than ever.

I heard pick 3, 6, Antoine Walker, and Dee Brown for Scottie Pippen and Luc
Longley.  3 and 6 for Pippen and Longley is one thing, but giving up Walker
is a definite no-no.  Thank god the Bulls are extra greedy and the deal was
so one-sided that even Pitino couldn't go through.  Pippen would've become
a free agent and probably wouldn't resign and the Bulls would have another
dynasty.  Thank you Chicago
 
> Again, I haven't given up on Pitino, but although I like what he does as 
> a coach, as a GM he is starting to scare me.  He has shown a tendency to 
> mislead or ignore players who aren't "his" choice.  Other than players 
> he either coached or recruited (Walker, Mercer, Billups, Conlon), there 
> seems to be communication problems in terms of contract negotiations and 
> discussion of the future.  It may just be that Pitino only wants "his" 
> players so he can be in control of the entire rebuilding process.  This 
> is not neccissarily a bad thing, but we should get the maximum for the 
> players we are moving.  So far we have gotten less than optimal 
> exchanges for Wesley (and potentially Radja).  I hope the Rick Fox 
> situation is handled better.
> 
> On the bright side, Pitino's intensity does appear to be rubbing off on 
> the players.  I saw Greg Minor at the mall yesterday and he was buying a 
> ton of cleaning supplies and household goods (three shopping carts 
> full).  It looks like he finally is commited to working out with the 
> team all summer long.  I do believe that Pitino's blend of hard work and 
> intensity will produce better developed players than ML's system, but 
> I'm a little worried that Pitino's management style may lessen 
> (slightly) the talent base he has to work with.
> 
> Adam