Michael Gee: Celtics Go In Circles

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

Are the Celtics under Pitino's direction forever to be in a state of
flux?  Or are they just experiencing an upgrade in personnel? Gee
argues for the former...

      Boston Herald

      Pitino goes in circles
      by Michael Gee 
      Wednesday, August 4, 1999
      Fortunately for him, Rick Pitino likes the ponies and not blackjack. The 
      Celtics coach would go broke in a hurry hitting on 17.
      Here in Boston, we can count on two things: Pitino's next edition of the 
      Celtics will be the team he's always wanted, the one he can nurture to 
      maturity and lead to an NBA title, and the Big Dig will be completed on 
      time and under budget.
      The latest Celtics trading flurry, which may not be done yet, confirms my 
      worst fears for the gifted but restless Pitino. Under him, the Celtics 
      will remain an unfinished symphony, where change, not to mention chaos, is 
      the only constant.
      That's how Pitino has operated since Day 1 of his two-plus year tenure as 
      Celtic-in-Chief. The Ron Mercer trade makes it plain Pitino will never be 
      satisfied with the men he sees in his locker room.
      Flexibility is a desirable quality in a CEO. But there's flexibility, and 
      then there's running around in circles. Let's review, space permitting, 
      the ceaseless and often contradictory maneuvers of the Good Ship 
      Leprechaun under Capt. Rick.
      1997: With the third and sixth picks of the draft, Boston chose guard 
      Chauncey Billups and Mercer, although they were intrigued by power forward 
      Danny Fortson. Pitino delighted. Eric Williams traded to Denver.
      Team of future now in place. Midway through the 1997-98 season, Pitino 
      traded Billups to get Kenny Anderson.
      1998: Celtics draft Paul Pierce. After lockout ends in early '99, Celts 
      give Antoine Walker maximum contract allowed - six years, $71 million. 
      Pitino delighted. Nucleus of team now really in place.
      1999: Mercer traded to Denver for Williams and Fortson. In the meantime, 
      Williams has had major knee injury. Celtics are desperate to find a team, 
      any team, willing to take Anderson and his contract.
      And would anyone be surprised if Walker was next to walk Capt. Rick's 
      plank? In a way, that'd be the perfect statement on the Pitino era. In 
      less than 30 months, the coach would have erased every major personnel 
      decision he has made. Every zig would have been countered by an equal and 
      opposite zag.
      The Kentucky guys come, the Kentucky guys go. Walker is the franchise, 
      until he's surplus goods. Rookies are the second coming of Jerry West, 
      then they're history.
      Pierce is the current object of Celtic affection. Despite some 
      embarrassing hype, he looks to be a solid pro. But I'm not planning to get 
      to know Pierce too well. Pitino's attitude toward his stars is akin to 
      Henry VIII's toward his wives.
      Pardon me for thinking Pitino's lack of direction is more to blame for the 
      team's lack of forward progress then Walker and Anderson's maddening 
      on-court flaws. If Antoine doesn't know the game, isn't it his coach's job 
      to teach it to him? Who exactly was Walker's college coach anyway?
      No team wins an NBA title until it sticks together long enough to get on a 
      first-name basis. Sooner or later, a coach has to pick a nucleus of five 
      or six guys he trusts to get him to a title, and stand by them, accepting 
      the risk of going down with their ship.
      Pitino knows that. He's even said it. Several times. That's the problem. 
      Pitino's natural enthusiasm, one of his great strengths, leads him to 
      announce every personnel move as a masterstroke. He regularly touts key 
      players in glowing terms up to the moment he dumps them for somebody new.
      This makes Pitino seem foolish, which he isn't, and fickle, which he 
      surely is.
      The man's glittering resume is itself a testament to outstanding ability 
      in his field, and a fatal propensity for falling in and out of basketball 
      love.
      Pitino's motivational book was entitled ``Success Is a Choice.'' It 
      should've been ``Success Is to Never Stop Choosing.'' As long as he's 
      here, Boston's future will never be now. The Celtics will always be 
      greener on the other side of the fence.