Just Great

[peter delevett <pdelevett@amcity.com>]

Well, those of you on this list who were adamantly opposed to the Celtics
signing Geiger got your wish. We'll see how you feel after Geiger and Ratliff
come in this season and ram the ball down our throats (while blocking six or
eight shots). (Although I would not have paid $9 mil a year for Geiger, so I
guess it's moot.) So much for his wanting to be a Celtic. IMO, this skews the
market for FA centers (like M. Stewart) way out of whack -- our best bet might
be to reconsider that Campbell trade, if such a deal ever existed. However,
ESPN.net is reporting a Travis-for-Battie deal is now imminent. Personally, I
don't see how Battie helps us, considering he is really only 6'9.

If we can get Stewart for whatever we've got under the cap, I say do it. His
agent sez he's up to 255 now, though whether that's true, or whether it's just
flab, remain to be seen. 

As for Popeye, I think the C's are likely to be outbid if all they're offering
is the $1.7 mil exception. One question I have about this: If we offer Pops
the exception, that's a one-year deal, right? So what happens next year? We'll
be capped out because, even with the cap rising to $34 mil, Toine's new $9 mil
a year deal presumably will be kicking in. The only way we'll have the room
for Popeye is if we can move Minor or Pervert.