Trades - be patient

["Stathis Avgoustiniatos" <stathisa@email.msn.com>]

You need time to build a good team, even to get a good idea about what is
the real nature of your team.  With Mercer being injured most of the games
until now, we haven't seen Walker-Pierce-Mercer playing together for more
than 4-5 games.  We have to let them play together for at least 1-2 seasons
before we can decide whether we can build a championship team around those 3
with less than top-quality PG and C, or trading one of the 3 is necessary.

In my opinion Walker is an excellent player, but he is NOT the player that
can lead a team to a championship.  Shooting freethrows the way he does and
with his at best mediocre middle-range shot, he is a few years and a lot of
talent away from being a Shaq-alike questionmark as far as leadership is
concerned, when it comes to winning championships (and this is quite a
different beast than making it to the POs - ask Barkley, Robinson, O'Neal,
Webber, Strickland, the Hardaways etc, etc).  But he could be an excellent
co-leader, if Pierce can evolve to what we all dream.  Pierce has apparently
everything: outside shot, inside moves, can take the opponents one-on-one,
plays excellent defense, rebounds, and can shoot the damn freethrows.  Don't
dare comparing him to Dee Brown.  Dee was playing next to Bird and McHale,
even at the low-side of their careers.  And I was much surprised by the
level of high praise Bird had given him (one single time that I recall).

As far as centers are concerned, who's playing center for Utah?  We have the
player and coaching material to build an excellent team if we have patience
and we don't go after the quick fix shopping for a "good" center or
center-substitute that will condemn us to be an eternally PO-bound but not
championship team.  I don't want to see Baker-like players playing for the
Celtics, I don't care how "good" they are.  And certainly I do not want to
put an expiration to this young team by giving too much for Robinson.

And we should keep looking for a PG that could carry us to that
championship, even if it takes several years for that, cause I doubt Kenny
can.

SA