RE: Why did we spend the $ on a center?

[Matt Healy <mhealy@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu>]

>Lets face it guys, the Celtics don't have anyone decent to trade except
>Antoine, and I would be pissed if they traded him.  Looks like the C's are
>just gonna have to wait around until all these ridiculous contracts they
>dished out expire so they have some money to get some free agents.  And
>hopefully future drafts will not suck as much as this years did, IMHO.  If
>you have two picks in the top 6 it seems like you should get something
>better than an underachieving point guard and a shooting guard that can't
>shoot.

One of these days, I'll give up fighting the short-sighted and pessimistic
attitude that overwhelms this list.  But for now, I still have enough
energy.

First, as to whether the Celtics have nobody to trade except Antione:  what
about that 3-way trade with Sacramento and Miami that would have brought us
Austin and Mashburn?  The Celtics were the ones to turn that down, and it
didn't involve Walker.  In fact, we could have had those two guys for "an
underachieving point guard and a shooting guard that can't shoot".  No, the
Celtics have plenty of players with trade value, and one of Pitino's
strategies is to get players with some potential but little current value,
play them to their strengths and not force them to play their weaknesses,
and raise their value.  I think we are seeing some of that with McCarty,
for example.  Nobody would take Dee or Dana except to entice the Celtics to
accept a trade, but other than that, I think other players have some trade
value.  Just because they can't be used to get Vin Baker straight up
doesn't mean they are worthless.

Second, about how this years draft "sucks".  Half a season (less) to decide
that a draft sucks.  Of course, its not like the verdict was actually held
off until now.  No, it was about 5 days into the season when many were
looking to dump the pathetically and hopelessly incompetent Billups.
Totally ridiculous.  How is Billups underachieving?  Because he's not Gary
Payton, as someone suggested he needed to become, in his first year?  A
shooting guard that can't shoot better not be talking about Ron Mercer,
because the guy can shoot.  And he can run.  And play defense.  For crying
out loud, if a guy isn't an all-star in his first 30 games, they suck.
Where are all the superstars that were drafted after these guys?  Who would
you rather have?  There's nothing wrong with being critical of a player or
a draft, but you at least have to give it some time.  Danny Ainge sucked a
lot worse than these guys for a longer time, but Celtics fans were pretty
glad they had drafted him when he finally came around.

Please, for the sake of your own sanity, give this some time.  Remember
where we came from:  the Celtics were the most hopeless loser of a team in
the NBA last year.  If somebody had asked how we could get that team to
being a championship contender, I'd have said you can't get there from
here.  It was truly hopeless.  Now, you can't say that.  Now there is a
path.  It might not work, but we have a team with some youth and talent,
and a coach with a vision and ability.  In one year, we are on pace to
double our wins from the previous season.  That is a fantastic
accomplishment, and should be so recognized.  Indeed, the path from last
years team to a championship team had to run through here.  But it wasn't a
one step plan, and anybody that thought that is only fooling themselves.

Matt