Re: PITINO

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

> My comments were based on one of the articles posted today by someone about t
 *he situation between Mercer and Pitino.  You are quite right he wanted more m
 *oney, but don't let's forget, Walter got a large check and his talents don't 
 *compare with Mercer's, no matter what you think of Mercer.  I love Walter, bu
 *t there was little hoopla about paying him, as many have mentioned here.  

Yes, Walter got a large check that as of now, seems completely undeserved.
But Mercer was offered a much larger check and declined it. Their contract
situations were on a completely different scale despite attempts to draw
parallels. And it's a dangerous idea to say, "I overpaid Walter, heck I 
might as well overpay everyone." And if Walter had decided that he was worth
$5M/year or that he needed a six year contract or else, Pitino would not 
have blinked before shipping him out of here (or waiving him).
 
> Many of you were delighted when Pitino came to the Celts, but I wasn't and ne
 *ver made any secret of it.  I haven't changed my mind at all in the interim. 
 * It has nothing to do with M. L. Carr, it has only to do with RP.  In my opin
 *ion, for what it's worth, he made a mega mistake in letting go Rick Fox and D
 *avid Wesley, who (no matter what you thought of them as players) were hard wo
 *rkers, always showed up to play, had a great raport with the fans and the med
 *ia and would have been that very important element - veteran leadership.  Unl
 *ess my memory has completely deserted me, the player for whom he had to give 
 *up all those free agents then was traded away.  It was all for nothing.  

Actually, he gave up Fox and Wesley to sign Travis Knight, who he then traded
for Tony Battie. Retaining Fox and Wesley would have eaten up the cap room 
to sign DeClercq too, actually. Everyone else ended up being worthless. So
it's a question of who you'd prefer, Fox and Wesley vs Battie and DeClercq. 
He got a lot more than nothing though.

>Ther
 *e also seems to be some question about Mercer's being told he would have an e
 *xtension, which is the crux of his problem with his new team, no?  

Pitino has no obligation to trade him to a team that will extend his contract,
and I really doubt that he would make that promise. Mercer and his agent are
essentially trying to be extortionists to get an inflated contract before
Mercer is forced to face his market value. I hope his agent shuts up and
Mercer lets his play speak for him next year.

> As usual, I make no apologies for what I said - they are only my opinions, fo
 *r what they're worth.  If Pitino gets the Celts to the playoffs this year I'l
 *l give him full credit for that, but I still won't like him.

You're always welcome to your opinions; if we disagree with them, we are 
certainly not asking you to apologize for them.

Alex

> 
> Dorine
>