Reading between the lines.

[JASPINDLER@aol.com]

The more I hear from all of the parties involved, the clearer the picture
becomes for what is going on with the Celtics power structure.  The key is
reading between the lines, and not letting your opinions get in the way of
drawing the correct conclusions.

First of all, ML Carr has the strong support of Paul Gaston and Red.  ML
convinced Gaston and Red that this organization needed to bottom out first,
and that the ride would be rough, but that he was prepared to take the heat.
 Two years ago, we were suffering with a team with no real stars, a bunch of
overpaid players on long term contracts, and a coach who was very unpopular
but managed to get them to sneak into the playoffs.  This was no so bad,
except that Ford'ssingle biggest weakness is that he cannot develop young
players.  Therefore there were no long term prospects for success and
championships.

It may well be that Gaston and Red called on ML to take on this "no win"
situation and weather the storm while the team bottomed out. I can't help but
feel that ML deliberately did a big favor for Dave Cowens when he turned him
down.  Dave would have tried too hard to win, and would have suffered with
the inevitable failure.  In any event, it is very clear from ML's comments
and from the clues that we can draw from Gaston and Red's comments, that ML
is by no means looked upon as a failure within the organization. ML is in
fact so secure, that he can laugh off comments in the paper such as the
writer who called him an idiot, and take the high ground.  If anyone read
ML's response to Steve Buckley, I think you can see that it is very obvious
that ML is not worried about his future.  He eloquently and intelligently
takes the high ground, and makes Buckley look like a total asshole in the
process. Touche!

Next we hear from Larry Bird.  It is obvious that Larry wants to be the GM,
and it is even more obvious by his comments that he respects the job that ML
has done as a coach.  Larry goes out of his way to say that he would consider
coaching anywhere BUT in Boston.  The way I read this comment is that Larry
correctly recognizes that ML has a superior ability to motivate players to
play hard for him, and that he deserves a chance to work with a full load of
talent.  Larry is saying that ML has earned the right to coach this team next
year if he wants to, because his team plays hard for him every night.  A lot
of ex players will tell you that coaching X's and O's is way over rated in
the pros.  If you have talent, chemistry and are lucky enough to avoid
injuries you can win with just about any coach.  KC Jones is a good example
of this, and KC himself would back me up on this statement.  Finally, ex
player and current coach of Detroit, Doug Collins weighs in with an opinion
that supports ML's coaching abilities, specifically citing his team's
chemistry under severe adversity.

Lastly, we hear from Mr. Pitino. Coach P is negotiating for power, and I
think that based on his comments he has a good read on the situation.  He
says that he wants a team that has a chance to win (reading between the
lines: players who play hard and have good chemistry, and 2, count em' 2 high
lottery picks), and an organization that is committed to winning.  No one on
the planet believes that the Celtics are not committed to winning, with the
exception of Peter May, and the legion of frustrated Knick fans who have
lived in the shadow of Celtics greatness, and now see their aging team
turning into the 1989 Celtics before their eyes.  The one difference is that
the 89 Celtics nucleus actually won 3 rings, while this Knicks team has one
appearence in the Finals to their credit.  Anyway, back to Pitino.... He has
correctly figured out that Larry Bird will be the GM here if he decides that
he wants to be. So he goes on record as saying that he does not require total
control if there are some other things in place.  

I believe that Larry has already made his decision to be the GM, and has
already told Gaston, Red and ML.  I also believe, based on comments that ML
made on the radio, that he more than welcomes Larry in that role; perhaps
this was the plan all along.

Larry's dilemna is what to do about the coaching situation.  I think that if
Pitino wants to come here, then ML will graciously step down for the good of
the organization.  Maybe this is all a ploy to establish some competition for
Pitino and put the Celtics in a strong negotiating position.  If Larry has ML
and DJ as one coaching option, then Pitino has less negotiating power.  If
Larry knows that ML is willing to step down for Pitino, then Larry is in the
driver's seat.  In addition, he could probably insist that Pitino take DJ as
his assistant coach.  Gaston may not be given a lot of credit by the average
sports fan, but he is an extremely smart businessman who knows how to
establish negotiating power.  He does it everyday, and makes a lot of money
at it.

Only time will tell what will happen in this soap opera, but I feel that my
perspective can be backed up by looking at what the parties have said, and
what they have not said.