Re: Michael Gee: Celtics Go In Circles

["Tim Lynch" <timmer96@mindspring.com>]

This should be fun...

> 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...

And I the later...

>       Boston Herald
>
>       Pitino goes in circles
>       by Michael Gee

As in "Gee, I'm a hack."

>       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.

What the hell's he supposed to say, "Don't come to the arena, we suck"?
Ever coach and GM says the same stuff.

>       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.

So I guess if Jordan offered to return in Celtic green Pitino should just
say, "Sorry, our symphony is just fine and mediocre the way it is."

>       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.

"Gee, do I want the 4th best rebounder in the NBA or an empty locker next
year?"

>       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.

Against his instincts he listened to his advisers who said Chauncey could be
a PG.  They were wrong.  Luckily we got Kenny who, as lamentable as he was
last season, will always be a more effective NBA player.

>       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.

As if being more enthused about the team with Pierce is a sin...

>       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.

Dipshit, I'm sure he didn't ask for EW.  Denver wouldn't have traded without
unloading him.

>       And would anyone be surprised if Walker was next to walk Capt.
Rick's
>       plank?

Gee Gee, I dunno.  Let's allow the man to actually do something before
crucifying him for it.

>       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.

And when West or Riley does the same crap it's "genius"...

>       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.

Too bad you didn't marry him too...

>       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?

Who said he doesn't know the game?  My dog knows how to sit and stay but
sometimes he's a punk and doesn't do it.

>       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.

I agree.  Too bad Master P's pet was utterly delusional about his worth.

>       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.

Yeah, you can really entice trades by saying, "God all my players suck."

>       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.

It's not like he's Hugh Grant throwing away Elizabeth Hurley for a Divine
Brown.  If he can get a Catherine Zeta Jones for Elizabeth he's gotta go for
it.  It's all about upward mobility.

>       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.

Again, Mercer kinda forced his hand, bud...

What a prick.

Tim