Re: Pippen, Richmond=Duncan

[damekmo@teleport.com]

>Relax guys, if we trade for Pippen, he's not coming here.  He's going to San
>Antonio for Tim Duncan.  Likewise with Mitch Richmond.  Pitino is not stupid.
>
>Lance

No he's not and I'm going to tell you why. But first... if he was to be
traded Dino wanted it to be to a "warm weather contender,"..yes? So does
that mean that if Dino got traded to the Lakers he would've passed the
physical? Now...who thinks Dino thrives with a coach who expects him to
play aggressive defense...to actually "think" about defending? P.J. Brown
has called Dino the worst defender he's ever seen. I hope Dino is ready to
get abused / crucified by Pitino because whether Dino gave the Sixers the
"perfect out" or not, this was a brilliant move by Pitino, and he's going
to make a certain 30 year-old pay for this little bit of insanity.

Now...Pippen. I make the move yesterday. Once again...the Celtics won 15
games last year. They haven't had anyone who knows anything about winning
on this team in years. Pippen is the best small forward in basketball and
for anyone who thinks it's Hill, let's talk about the last half of the
Pistons last playoff game this year. How many points did Grant get in the
last half? How many times did he go to the free throw line in the game? Why
did the best small forward in the league keep passing up the shot in a
tight game? Pippen knows how to win and will control the game better than
any point the Celtics could get in the draft. He's 31 which means, yes,
he's at the end of his carreer, but he could still play for another
four...perhaps five years at, given his talents, a higher level than any
small forward the Celtics could pick up in the draft. He'll bring the full
offensive and defensive package for four or five years. If Longley
comes...no he's not Ewing but perhaps it's true when they say that after
Duncan there's not another center out there for years. Longley is, in any
case, much better than anything the Celtics could put out on the floor.
(When is his contract up?) He's not a stiff. He's not great, but he's not a
stiff. Pippen could get hurt? The odds of him getting hurt are greater than
the odds of Van Horn getting hurt. But the odds are also pretty good that
the second best player in the draft is an over-rated "no defense" player
from the WAC who'll never begin to approach Pippen's level of talent. It
could be that this draft is as thin, even at 2 through 6, as they say. Now
it could be that Pitino trades Pippen as soon as he gets him, if he gets
him. But, I don't think keeping Pippen and Longley after trading them for 3
and 6 is such a bad move.


Paul M