Re: Pitino's GM work

[Andy Shaw <shaw@transmeta.com>]

   Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 00:01:29 EST
   From: Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>

   During the offseason, Pitino signed multiple "mediocre" players as
   opposed to one big star, which some have suggested is a mistake.

   [...]

   His other hope is that he can build trade value with his
   new acquisitions. 

I think this is pretty perceptive.

Putting together a championship team is a very difficult task in the
current NBA, especially with the salary cap.  The Lakers have done a
good job putting together a team slowly, with underappreciated players
that they have developed, and whom they can afford, and one big free
agent.

Think about it ... Elden Campbell, Eddie Jones, Kobe Bryant, and Nick
Van Exel.  The last three guys have got the be the most underpaid
All-Stars in the league, and Campbell only got his big contract fairly
recently.  If these guys weren't underpaid, then the Lakers could
never have been able to afford Shaq.

Pitino is a really smart guy.  At the beginning of the season, people
on this list were calling him stupid for signing Knight to a $21
million contract.  Now, people are saying that Knight is tradeable
because of his _small_ contract ... IMO, Knight is slightly overpaid
by today's standards, but by the end of his contract, he's going to be
really underpaid at $3 million/year.

If Pitino can develop some of these underpaid guys into good trade
bait, he'd should try to get some draft picks in return, because he
needs to manage the team salary so that at the right moment, he can
get the big free agent, while having some up-and-coming guys who are
signed to contracts like Knight's, and coming into their own.

-Andy