The Crank-Meter

[Josh Ozersky <josh_ozersky@yahoo.com>]

Not to put to fine a point on it, anyone who doesn't
like this trade is a stone nut and/or a crank.  This
is one of the most lopsided trades the Celtics have
ever made, and makes sense from every conceivable
angle.  If you are down on it you are just a
Pitino-hater and a prickly pear, and have no
credibility with me anymore.  Which is too bad,
because I never thought Ryan and Mishra were cranks. 
But there is no room for disagreement on this
momentous occasion!




--- Ryan Falcone <FalconeR@nvg.com> wrote:
> 
> >>> Shailendra Mishra <shailendra_mishra@yahoo.com>
> 08/03/99
> 12:00pm >>>
> I am  terribly disappointed with this trade. Mercer
> had his
> limitations, but he also had tremendous upside. I
> don't see the same
> potential in the incumbents that we have got in
> return. With this trade
> Pitino has proven to me he is clueless as far as the
> pro-game is
> concerned. He is a poor evaluator of talent, he
> plays favourites and
> has ruined this team. Mercer may have been asking
> more money but if
> Pitino had not given that stupid contract to McCarty
> that money would
> have been there to sign Mercer.
> 
> Just imagine with the 3rd and 6th pick in 1997 draft
> we have got
> Anderson, Fortson and 1st round pick. I am not
> counting Eric Williams
> because he was already there. I hated the Billups
> trade and I hate this
> one and I am convinced we were much better with
> M.L.Carr at the
> helm..Pitino is a joke. - Mishra <<<
> 
> > 
> 
> A little harsher than what I might have said, but
> essentially I agree with
> Mishra.  If Fortson is so much better than
> Mercer--as many are
> asserting--then why would Denver throw in a future
> first round draft
> pick?  Fortson had a very good year (and a great
> year on the glass, to
> be sure), but I have my doubts about his ability to
> play defense in this
> kind of system.  I've listened to everyone talk
> about his ostensible lateral
> quickness and how he played in a similar system at
> Cincinnati, but there
> is a big difference between giving your all for 30
> games and giving your
> all during the course of an 82 game season.
> 
> Incidentally, I think that it's highly unlikely that
> the draft pick will end up
> being low enough to be especially valuable.  Denver
> now has McDyess,
> LaFrentz, Billups, Van Exel, and Mercer, and are
> pretty well-stocked.  In
> a year or two, they will probably be a formidable
> team in the western
> conference.
> 
> Finally, I'm very worried about Pierce playing
> full-time at the two guard
> position.  His game is much more suited for small
> forward--especially
> defensively.  And while he is a very good shooter,
> that in and of itself is
> not a determinant of success at the "two."  For all
> of the Mercer
> detractors who lamented Ron's poor ball handling,
> wasn't that precisely
> the biggest knock against Pierce pre-draft 1998,
> too?  So then what did
> we gain?
> 
> And while we're discussing the potential void at the
> shooting guard
> position, forget about Griffin playing extended
> minutes there; he's a burly
> small forward all the way.  He will take (and make)
> some perimeter
> shots, but I question his overall quickness /
> ability to stick with "twos"
> defensively  (for what it's worth, I liked his
> acquisition very much, but I've
> watched him play numerous times when he was at Seton
> Hall, and I
> assure everyone that he is NOT a guard).
> 
> I do like picking up the Erics:  Williams and
> Washington.  I think that they
> significantly upgrade the second unit.  However, I
> have lingering doubts
> about both Pitino's overall general manager aptitude
> and whether this
> trade will improve the overall play of the team.
> 
> To wit:  if Mercer would have completed his college
> eligibility, he likely
> would have been the number one pick in the
> draft--certainly among the
> top three.  So, we traded a player with a tremendous
> upside for a
> somewhat limited, undersized power forward and a
> draft pick that isn't
> likely to be all that high.  We have a glut of small
> forwards, but no
> shooting guard on the roster with the  ability /
> talent to be a full-time
> starter.  We have an owner who is unwilling to pay
> the salary demands
> of an up-and-coming second year backcourt stud, and
> a front office
> who compensate by going out and trading him for
> another second year
> player who will command a higher salary by virtue of
> his tremendous
> past year.
> 
> To revisit Mishra, I'm not sure that I totally
> condemn this trade, but I think
> that at best it could work either way.
> 
> Ryan
> 
> 
>
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