Re: Thoughts on the Holley article

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

On McCarty:

I have to say that his extension seemed hefty to me. I can't really 
imagine that any other team was dying to steal him away in free agency.
I would rather that Pitino had waited, let McCarty test the free agency
market, and then get a more favorable deal.

On Portland:
 
> There's a grain of truth to the "deep pockets" theory of NBA success, but
> need I mention that Portland *still* has to abide by the salary cap rules,
> just like the Celtics? They're not LA, after all.

The cap is a soft cap and Portland is one of the big violators. They have 
four $9-12M players on their team, another four making $3-4M, three rookie
contracts, and two exception players in their rotation. I would guess that 
the exception players get rewarded with big raises that have already been 
guaranteed under the table when their contracts expire. Most teams can 
only afford two big salaries (if that), a few medium salaries and rookie 
contracts, and a bunch of minimum salary players. 

I'm not saying that Portland hasn't been managed well but the money is a
big advantage. Admittedly Boston is one of the better-off teams too. 

> Wasn't Dwayne signed with the 1 mil. exception, and wasn't it a 2-year
> contract? I seem to recall something like that. 

He's signed for the minimum but it's guaranteed until the middle of next
year. 

> Anyway, I guess I just resent this pap Pitinochio feeds us every time he
> signs another piece of NBA debris. As if we're going to ever accomplish
> anything with these people taking up half of our roster.

You build slowly. You're not going to get good exception players yet 
because they tend to want to play for contenders or warm climates (since
the money is the same either way). Eventually, you'll fill your bench
with your draft picks. And you are right, they are not going to be 
starter-quality players (for a while) but they'll fill the bench fine,
anchored by a veteran player or two.

I really doubt that having more backup-type players (NBA talent or not)
would have changed the course of this season significantly. 

Alex