No Subject

In today's market, you don't go out and sign or trade for a
superstar/all-star until you've built up your depth of quality players,
and developed them to the point where all the team needs is a superstar
or one more all-star to take them over the top to a championship.
Why?  Because that signing them as a free agent combined with the
salary cap would handcuff you from making any significant future moves,
to round out your team, and trading for him would force you to give up
too many quality players, and put you further from your goal.  You need a 
solid foundation upon which the all-star can vault you to the top.  Right
now, the highest any all-star could vault the Celtics would be to a low
playoff team. 

Right now I believe Walker and Williams are proven quality players. 
(The other 2 from last year were Fox and Wesley).  Walker will probably 
develop to all-star status.  Williams probably won't, but he fills the 
role of being able to consistently get to the free-throw line, and get guys 
on the other team in foul trouble, which no one else on last year's Celtics 
could do, and which is a valuable way to break certain kinds of defenses. 

Minor has the physical skills, and HOPEFULLY just needs good coaching, which 
he now has, to become a quality player.  Brown just needed motivation
to become a quality player, and now he's regained the motivation.  If
just 3 or 4 of the new acquisitions (Billups, Mercer, Knight, Declerq,
and possibly Outlaw, and one other) turn into quality players, and just
one of them develops into an all-star, then the Celtics will be in a
position to sign a free agent all-star or trade a young quality player
and draft picks for an all-star, to bring them close to championship caliber, 
but they aren't ready for that yet.  I say wait one year, get everyone playing
time, develop everyone as much as possible (increase their value), THEN
see how far off we are from the model of a championship team, and make
appropriate moves.  It's way too soon to be mortgaging the future to go for 
a proven all-star.  

Besides, one problem that occurs when you put a bunch of young players 
with potential on the floor with a veteran all-star is that the young
guys are a bit in awe of the all-star and feel a little less confident
about their own game, and about assuming some leadership on the floor.
I like the balance of status on the Celtics roster right now.  I doubt 
any player will be in awe of any other player, and Pitino will definitely 
be the man in charge, which he needs at this point if he wants to shape this 
group of players into a team in his mold.

Jon McIntyre