The center cannot hold

[peter delevett <pdelevett@amcity.com>]

Dorine and George -- I think you're right that if Eric Riley can keep it up,
and DeQ can keep up the energy, the two can make an effective center combo so
long as we keep Mercer, Pierce, Kenny & Antoine healthy. However, I for one
can't believe they are the team's long-term solution.

Absent landing a great center in the draft, and absent our having the dough to
sign a quality FA, our best option remains a trade. And we need to focus on
teams that have a quality backup or starting C they're dissatisfied with;
remember how little Orlando was willing to take in exchange for Rony Seikaly?
Ditto the Heat for Austin?

It looks as though Elden Campbell will shortly be a Hornet, cutting off our
access to perhaps the best prospect out there. The Pistons already are down
(again) on Bison Dele, and though he's not a defensive force and doesn't
always work as hard as he should (a la Elden), he'd be a heap better than
anyone we have in the pivot. Odds on a trade: depends on how badly he
continues to tweak Detroit. If he's stuck on the bench midway thru the season,
they might deal him for a reasonable package (i.e. one that wouldn't rob us of
any of the Big 3).

Ervin Johnson is still out there and still in George Karl's doghouse (sorry,
Snoopy). Johnson played just 20 minutes last night and had 5 boards and a
block. Pros: he's more than athletic enough for our system and blocked nearly
2 spg last year. Cons: He's not really big enough to be a low-post banger, and
he's 32 (although he came into the league late a la Dennis Rodman, so he's
probably a "young" 32). I'd only do this if we could give up little in return.

Potapenko, IMO, is now the best young backup C in the league with Campbell on
his way to Charlotte. He will be a FA at the end of the season, and if the
Cavs can't sign him (unlikely with Knight, DA & Henderson all FAs after next
season), they might deal him. If he can be had at a modest price, I'd say
definitely do it -- he has the beef to defend the post and is a low-post scorer.

Finally, word here in the Bay Area is that Erick Dampier is unhappy with his
lack of PT so far. This is a situation that could bear watching; the Warriors
say he's one of their cornerstones, and he's said he wants to get a deal done
to stay with the team. But if they continue to play him just 20 a game, he's
sounding now like he might look elsewhere. If that happens, I would urge the
Celts to strike quickly -- he averaged 12 & 9 last year, can block shots,
defend the post and run the floor. Probably a pipe dream, but one that bears monitoring.


>I think, for all the conjecture on this list, we'll be okay at center.
>Andrew and Riley are both doing quite nicely, and Popeye is A-OK, also.

>Dorine

------------------------------

>Here we were so worried about how Ilguskas & Mourning were going to push our
>big men around and we out-rebounded both Cleveland & Miami.

>George