Gaston- time to sell!

[Warwick Janetzki <giants@icplus.net.au>]

Guys,

if Alex was correct in his recent post, then I think its time for Gaston
to sell the Celtics.

I mean if he wants to win we need to have players who are going to kick
butt. Fine, they're going to cost a lot, but its the cost of winning.
Look at the top 3 teams with salaries

1. Chicago $61,330,670
2. New York $53,974,881
3. Orlando $43,954,229

All 3 had realistic chances at the start of the season to go deep into
the postseason.

Now look at the bottom 3 teams salary wise

27. Detroit $24,876,625
28. Toronto $24,748,405
29. Clippers $24,493,625

Save for Grant Hill the Pistons are going no where (well include Brian
Williams if you wish) and the other 2 are going no where fast. 

That proves the theory of "winning costs!"

How much does Gaston want to win?

Does he realise that if he wants to make money he needs to have a
successful team and to have a successful team he has to have a few
highly paid players with the role-players not making enough.

Again I look at the Chicago Bulls.

Chicago Bulls   ($61,330,670)
  Player                     Salary   
  Michael Jordan ........ $33,140,000
  Ron Harper ............   4,560,000
  Toni Kukoc ............   4,560,000
  Dennis Rodman .........   4,500,000   [rumored, new salary wasn't
listed]
  Luc Longley ...........   3,184,900
  Scottie Pippen ........   2,775,000
  Bill Wennington .......   1,800,000
  Scott Burrell .........   1,430,000
  Randy Brown ...........   1,260,000
  Robert Parish .........   1,150,000   [retired]
  Jason Caffey ..........     850,920
  Steve Kerr ............     750,000
  Keith Booth ...........     597,600
  Jud Buechler ..........     500,000
  Joe Kleine ............     272,250

Okay. They have their top 6 as their top paid players (all over 2
million!) and the rest getting $2 mil down. Take a look at Steve Kerr
and Jason Caffey, they're two of the most best role players at their
position in the league and Caffey leads them with only $850,920. You
want to know why those players will take that sort of money to play with
the Bulls? (Jason is finishing his rookie contract acknowledged, but
he'd take that kinda money to play!) It is because they WANT to win.

The Celtics have about 4 of their future top 6 at the moment. Those
being Antoine Walker, Chauncey Billups, Ron Mercer and Walter McCarty.
Include Travis if you must, but I dont think he is and will be traded as
soon as they find someone that will take him and give a fair deal to us.

Then the bottom 6 or 7. The players that Boston could and should look at
keeping for those players would be.

Andrew DeClercq- backup power forward / center.
Roy Rogers- backup power forward / center
Bruce Bowen- backup small forward / shooting guard
Tyus Edney- backup point guard

That give the Celtics 4 players to get to build a dream team.

So far it is  C- |BLANK|  Rogers   DeClercq
             PF- |BLANK|  McCarty  Rogers    DeClercq
             SF- Walker   McCarty  Bowen
             SG- Mercer   Bowen    |BLANK| 
             PG- Billups  Edney    |BLANK|

The players that are useless to us are: Brown, Barros, Minor, Ellison,
Knight, Jones, Thomas. Yet at the moment each and every one of them are
useful to some extent.

If we could trade them for players who are useless but free agents soon,
then it may be good to deal them. A player who could be moved is Dee
Brown to Utah for Chris Morris. Utah need another backup shooting guard
and Chris Morris is a free agent at the end of the season.

Comments/Oppinions?

Warwick