Free Agents vs. The Draft

[dsbubar@mail.hac.com]

     Living in So. Cal I got a chance to watch the Celtics/Clippers game 
     and listen to Bill Walton commentate the game.  Aside from all the 
     blabber that comes out of his mouth, he did say something that was 
     quite profound and made me think.  He stated that in today's NBA you 
     can not build a team with the draft, you build a team through free 
     agency.  To support his statement, there are a lot of teams that have 
     been in the lottery for many years (some since it's inception).  Once 
     a true lottery team, it is hard to get out.  So anyway, say we buy 
     into Bill's theory and realize that we don't want anymore high draft 
     picks.  We want to get out of the lottery, bring some respectability 
     to the franchise (M.L. did a lot of damage in that area) and sign some 
     free agents.  We have problems there because we don't have a lot of 
     cap room (although through some shrewd dealing, this can be fixed).  
     Do we have an advantage in that we are the Celtics?  Does the Celtic's 
     name and tradition mean anything anymore (or does everybody wnt to 
     play for the Lakers)?  That is the big question.  Do the spoiled 
     athletes of today just care who has the most money to give them or do 
     some of them recognize the most storied franchise in the history of 
     the NBA and want to be a part of bringing the 17th banner to the 
     rafters (does the Fleet Center have rafters?).  This is also important 
     in keeping free agents.
     
        By the way, Denver believes that money talks.  Although they are 
     terrible, they believe that they will attract free agents because they 
     have the most money to throw at them.
     
        On a second note, I believe that everything we do now should hinge 
     on whether Vin Baker still wants to play for the Celtics (see what he 
     did to Mr. Bird's team the other night?).  If there is chance, forget 
     about the Cambys of this league and wait on Baker.
     
     dsb