Chris Wallace, Wesley & Fox, and Jerry Stackhouse

[Michael Joseph Byrnes <mbyrnes@leland.Stanford.EDU>]

J.Lyell wrote:

> Pitino named Chris Wallace GM (Heat director of player personel). However,
> in compensation he agreed to swap second round picks w/ the heat.
> 
> This move sucks big time !!!!  We move from 31 & getting a good player, to
> 56 scrub time/ Mr. Irrelevant !  for a G.M. ?

Are you kidding?  In any draft, even a late first round pick can be a
crapshoot.  This is especially true in this weak draft-year.  We haven't
drafted "a good player" with our second round pick since Dino Radja, who,
as a European, was sort of a special case.

In Wallace, we are getting a personell guy who helped the Heat pick up
Isaac Austin and Voshon Lenard, each of whom have done more for the Heat
than any second round draft choice has done.  This is a good trade for us.
With Wallace on board, we may even get a better player at #55 than the
Heat get at #30.

- -----------------------

Lance Gee wrote:

> Coach Pitino should do everything possible to keep David Wesly and Rick Fox.  
> Wesly has proven he is a top 10 point guard, a good defender, and an excellent 
> leader.  Fox is a potential all-star and possible all-defensive candidate.  
> We've got to keep players who have the motivation to get better even when 
> things aren't going well.  We shouldn't make the mistake of giving up a player 
> just to free up salary cap space when we don't even know who we will get.  
> Give Pitino a chance to work with a real coach.

If the Celtics don't start freeing up salary cap space, they will, quite
simply, NEVER be able to sign an impact free agent.  Are you saying that
you think the current Celtics players (including Fox and Wesley) plus our
draft choices will be enough to build a championship team?  I doubt it.

Let me say this once, so no one will be confused:

	NO CAP MONEY = NO FREE AGENTS

I don't think the celtics can rebuild without eventually making a bis
splash in the free agent market.  If they refuse to let any of their
current players go, they will never even be able to make an offer.

- -------------------------------------------------

Mark Berry wrote:

>           With Stack, you know what you're getting -- a shooting guard
>           who can't shoot. He's big and explosive, but not a good
>           shooter or defender -- but maybe Pitino thinks he can be.

This is extremely unfair to Stackhouse.  It is true that he has not become
the star than many had projected him to be, but a HUGE reason for that is
the fact that he has had extremely poor coaching during his two years in
the NBA.  He is also very youg - if he had stayed in school for four
years, he would just now be eligible for the draft.  Finally, he has spent
the last year playing next to the "anti-point" guard, Allen Iverson.
Despite these problems, he has put up some pretty good numbers over the
last couple of years, and there is no doubting his talent or athleticism.  

At this point, I would rather have Stackhouse than Mercer.  Even if Mercer
has the bigger upside (of which I am not completely convinced), he could
also be a complete bust.  Stackhouse is young, and has proven that he can
play in the NBA.  With some good coaching, I think he could easily be a
perennial All-Star.

Of course, if there was any question of being able to sign Stackhouse
after his contract expires, I would not trade for him.  Furthermore, I am
not sure about the proposed multi-player/pick trade that has been
mentioned here.

Sine we really don't know who the Sixers want, and they really don't know
who we want, I think it would make the most sense to wait until after the
draft to see if a trade makes any sense.

Michael Byrnes
mbyrnes@stanford.edu