Anderson trade: 2/18/98 Boston Herald

["Waiyan (Ian) Ma" <wma@bbn.com>]

I haven't yet caught up all the emails, so I'm not sure if it's duplicate 
or not. These are excerpt from 2/18/98 Boston Herald and my comment.

Coach Pitino said he expected Kenny Anderson to be like Tiny Archibald.
Anderson said Archibald was his idol, and that's why he wore No.7.

Anderson said he could score if Coach asked him, or he could assist too 
if it was asked, and he just needed Coach to give him the ball. He is in 
the position to prove himself. He said Coach knew him since he was in 
high school.

I heard the same interview on the local TV news too, and I found something 
interesting. All the celtics players address Rick Pitino as Coach. When 
Anderson talked to the reporters, he said "Rick.... Coach  Pitino knew 
me since I was in high school."  That's a very good sign to me, because 
it shows that Anderson is not a player with BAD attitude, he shown respect 
to Rick Pitino and did what the Coach told him to do, even in the very small 
detail.

Coach Pitino also said he wouldn't be totally honest if he said it's a 
great deal now, he needed to review it after it show. However, I remember 
somewhere it is reported that he said it's a home run for Celtics. I 
believe that he just didn't want to hurt Billup and Dee Brown.

In another article, Billup said Coach talked with him and both agreed that 
it's a good move for Billup, now he can play his way and doesn't need to 
look over his shoulder after every play. He didn't mention that if Pitino 
asked if he wanted to move (as in Chris Mill case, it was reported that 
Pitino would cancel the trade if Mill didn't like it), I believe that 
means RP really like the deal.

IMHO, I think it's a great deal for Celtics. No matter how good Billup 
will be, we will worry about the point position unitl he prove it. Now 
we don't need to worry that (hopefully) anymore, and again no matter how 
good Billup WILL be, Kenny Anderson CAN be as good as an all-star too, 
and it's been proved. On the other hand, now we know how much we have to 
pay for a good point, with Billup, that will worry us for another 2 years. 
Finally, with the money from Paul Allan for Anderson, we should be sure 
that Paul Gaston should have enough money to resign Walker and Mercer.

So, now we can focus on the center committee and the growth of our 
beloved Celtics ! Is it a great deal ?

-ian