http://www.onhoops.com/articles/Sep97/celtics99.html

[RAMANI_R@bentley.edu]

Far be it from me to not weigh in with my own opinion. Being a die-hard Knicks
fan (anybody
remember my picks last year? Wait till you see this year's!), I am a big Pitino
fan. But, since I have
always hated the Celtics, I feel I'm pretty objective about tricky Ricky's
maneuverings this summer
and I would say just one thing:

The man just wanted to make an impact. Which he did. But then he got carried
away.

Last year, the Celtics were pathetic. No one can possibly deny that. So Pitino
had free reign to do
anything he wanted, and he'd come out on top. His first move was to jettison
Dino Radja. Although
Dino can score, he has no defensive game, is injury prone, and more importantly
is slow. Was this a
good move? Of course. If the guy was taking up salary space, had serious
liabilities, and didn't fit in
with the coach's philosophy, then get rid of him.

But then why didn't they hang on to David Wesley and draft somebody else?
Wesley's not exactly
young (he'll be 28 in November), but he is an experienced, solid point guard
who can play defense.
Oops. Tyus Edney will be good, but I think he's a poor man's Kevin Johnson
(real quick, real
injury-prone, too short). So you have a rookie at point guard instead. Go
figure on this one.

As for Rick Fox, I don't know why Pitino got rid of him. Ditto with Eric
Williams. Chris Mills, a
one-dimensional player, is no replacement. How on earth is Mills, not exactly a
svelte individual,
going to adjust from Fratello-ball to Pitino-ball? I don't know much about
Williams, to be honest,
but he sure got a lot of hype the year before last. What's that you say? He
didn't improve last year?
It's a miracle he didn't shoot himself, playing for M.L. Carr. 

As for Travis Knight, this is a good move by Pitino without a doubt. Almost.
Knight will excel in
Pitino's system because he has the mobility to do so. He will also be real
popular in Boston -- which
is what Jim McIlvaine wasn't in Seattle. Only catch is, the way salaries are
going, poor Travis will be
making minimum wage before his contract expires. There will be noise about this
contract before it
ends -- not as much noise as in Seattle though.

Pitino's biggest crime is trying to assemble the best team he could with this
year's free agents, not
build room for next year's crop. The Celtics will improve though, to the point
where they might even
be attractive to the rookie class of 1999. By the way, Dana Barros should play
great for Pitino. I
wouldn't be surprised to see him get most improved honors.