Offseason survey

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

DRAFT:
My understanding of the draft lottery is that every team in the
lottery gets a shot at the top 3 picks, and when those are 
determined, the remaining spots are given in order of worst 
record. The Celtics are tied for the 9th worst record so if
the draft happened now, they would either get lucky and draft 
1,2,3, or else pick at 9 or lower. 
   If they land a top pick, I would think they would keep it 
unless they got a great deal to clear a large amount of cap 
room and get useful veterans (similar to the van Horn deal). 
Say if someone would take Minor, Ellison, D. Jones and fill one
of our position needs. Otherwise, LaFrentz, Pierce, Jamison
would be the three to look at, probably. Pitino would have to
take a good look at Olowokandi also even though he sounds risky.
   It's still quite possible to get good players at 9 but they
are less likely to have immediate impact. It could be traded to
a rebuilding franchise for cap room.

FREE AGENTS:
Matt Geiger sounds like the best bet. He's been averaging 15 pts
and 9 rebounds as a starter for the Hornets since Divacs went
down and is still starting now that Divacs is back.
   I believe that the Radja buyout is on the salary cap for about 
$2.5 million a year another two years after this one. Before the
Anderson trade, the Celtics had $30M of salaries for next year.
After the trade, they should have a bit under $28M. The draft pick
will take another million. If the cap goes up to $32-34M, there
will be $3-5M to spend on a free agent. It may take more than that
to get Geiger but it should definitely be possible. 
   Keeping Popeye will be tough. Depending on the state of the 
collective bargaining agreement, it could be possible to circumvent
the cap by signing him to a one-year contract at the minimum with
the understanding that he'll be rewarded in a year.

Alex