The Crank-Meter -Reply

[Ryan Falcone <FalconeR@nvg.com>]

Josh:

Not only is this uncalled for, but it is completely inaccurate.  The fact that
you are unwilling to consider potentially negative ramifications of this
trade show how oblivious you are to the risk involved.

Further, I am neither a "Pitino-hater" nor a "prickly pear," and don't much
care for your categorical classification of me as such.  I suggest that you
try to keep a more open mind on the forum; just because you are
unreceptive to the opinions of others does not mean that the rest of
the list is.  

Josh, I normally like / agree with your posts, but your last one was
inappropriate.

Ryan

>>> Josh Ozersky <josh_ozersky@yahoo.com> 08/03/99 02:03pm >>>
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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