My two cents

[peter delevett <pdelevett@amcity.com>]

I think it's strange that people both pro and con have been casting this
Baker-for-Walker trade possibility as, "Pitino needs to make good on his
promise to get into the playoffs this year." Vin Baker is guaranteed playoffs?
The man has played ten -- TEN -- playoff games in a 450-game career. And
that's with teammates like Glenn Robinson, Ray Allen, Detlef Schrempf and Gary
Payton - guys better than most of our current roster. 

Vin Baker does NOT "guarantee" the Celtics the playoffs. Neither do Antoine
Walker or Ron Mercer. I also share Joe's concerns about whether Baker could
thrive in Pitino's system, even if he were in far better shape than he is.
And, Baker will only give you limited spot minutes at the 5.

If we must trade Mercer for a big tough 4, letting Walker fling it up at the 3
and letting Pierce try his luck at 2, then let's get a big, tough 4, not a
finesse guy.

On a totally different note, that sounds like really, really bad news about
Minor. After the way he played last season, I'd been hoping he could fill in
should Mercer be traded, or at the very least that he himself might have some
trade value. If the poor guy's still walking with a cane, it sounds like
neither of those options is going to happen.