Longley, draft

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

If you recall, Luc Longley was going to be part of the package that
would have brought Pippen to Boston during the draft. I believe the
original offer was the #3 for Pippen, and then sweetened by Pitino
by offering the #3 and #6 for Pippen and Longley. 

If the Bulls get broken up, I would imagine that Longley would 
probably be available.

As for the draft, I think the two coveted players for the Celtics
would be LaFrentz and Pierce. So if they get lucky in the lottery,
they grab one of these. Otherwise they would probably ship the pick.

The teams with the worst records are:
1) Denver 
2) Toronto
3) Clippers
4) Golden State
5) Vancouver
6) Dallas

Many of these teams have cap space but free agents may still avoid them
like the plague. These teams would be prime candidates to work out a deal
for cap space (to get a center) in exchange for the Celtics' #9 pick and 
Ellison, say.

If that didn't work, another idea is to trade Mercer, Ellison, Minor and 
the #9 for the #1 or #2 pick in order to take LaFrentz or Pierce. This could 
open up enough cap room to sign a center. I doubt the other team would go for 
it though. If we offered the same to Toronto for Camby and a future pick, 
I could see it happening. I don't like the idea of trading Mercer but I would
guess that Pitino would do it if it could free up a lot of cap room and get
decent talent in return.

Alex