Re: Reasons for going through w/ trade

[Cecil Wright <nocw1@nsh.library.ns.ca>]

It amazes me that some Celtic fans are so incredibly impatient that they 
would even consider trading Mercer and Billups.  Great teams are built 
off of defence first.  Remember the great Celtic teams of the 50's & 
60's.  A guy named Russell was the key to that team and all of those who 
played for those teams would quickly agree, even Cooz.  Then, during the 
70's came a few more titles with a demonic center (Cowens) and definite 
superb defensive specialists (Silas, Chaney).  Finally, the Bird years 
featured some spectacular defence by the C's.  Sure those teams had some 
outstanding offensive stars, but the foundation of those teams were solid 
defensive play. 

We have a young coach who is in the process of building his team 
defensively first.  He should be commended for doing so.  The team will 
be built with the goal of winning the NBA title, but it takes time 
especially given the level of talent in the league right now.

Lastly, I think it's totally unfair to label CB as a selfish player.  
Nobody knows if Pitino is telling him to take those shots or not but it 
is not for you to say.  If you call him selfish, what is it when Toine 
attempts 20+ shots/game?  I don't call him selfish but some of his shots 
are extremely ill-advised.

We should be praising these players for their effort instead of trying to 
trade players who are just starting their NBA career.  Besides, making a 
trade at this point will do little to strengthen the relentless effort 
they put out each night.  Can Austin or Mashburn play the suffocating defence
that Pitino demands?  We don't know.  One thing is for sure though, even 
with this remarkable start to the season, when none of us envisioned the 
team to be this successful at this stage of the game, some of us want to 
make ill-advised roster moves, just like some of A.W.'s shot attempts.  
Relax and give Pitino adequate time to formulate his team.  

Can't argue with him thus far.

Cecil

On Sun, 4 Jan 1998, Roy Enrile wrote:

> 
>      The tradeoffs that Pitino's seeking in the
> Billups/Mercer:Mashburn/Austin trade could be that
> the Celtics would gain an acceptable NBA offense.
> 
>      Most of us probably agree that that the C's defense 
> is FAR better than most teams in the leauge,
> (No more Montross and Dino watching as guards get layup
> after layup), and I think that's the reason the record is so good.
> Now imagine how many wins/blowouts they could have if
> the offense wasn't shooting  .430  while opponents shoot  .470 .
> 
>      3 of our starters(Bowen, McCarty, Declerc) are among the
> least talented starters on offense(but are berserkers on D) in the 
> league.  For example try comparing their skills to Dee, E.W., Radja
> or any current NBA starters at the 2,3,5 spots.
> 
>      More high percentage fg attempts in the post(Mash and Ike can
> definitely do that), instead of jumpers just inside 3 point range can
> only help.  The loss of Billups and Mercer would be hard, but I can see 
> Pitino recruiting point guards (Eric Murdock, Derek Anderson type)
> who are a little more unselfish than Chauncey, and still play D.
> Also, Pitino previously loved shooting guards that had 3 pt range.  
> The good spacing this would provide plus an unselfish PG would be
> closer to a Kentucky offense.
> 
> On a different subject, Austin gets up suprisingly high and has 
> timing on help D.  Doesn't let centers back him to the post.
> Dominated Knight/Declerc.
> 
>