Re: Samaki

[j.hironaka@unesco.org]

Hi Gene:

If you have a minute, could you kindly post to the list any reported
reasons to your knowledge why Samaki failed to appear in half the games
in each of his three NBA seasons? Did this involve distinct, minor
injuries or some sort of nagging/congenital issue? Did he ever suffer any
sort of brain injury? (just kidding).

Has it ever been hinted that he was rather slow to come back from his
injuries, or that he didn't stay in peak shape?

I suppose we can view it as a risk to sign Samaki to even the type of
long-term deal he has already rejected. Actually what  irritates me even
more than the actual fact we may offer Ron Mercer for him, is if Pitino
rewards this player with a long-term contract anywhere near what he's
hoping for. Puh-lease. Based on Samaki's injury record and career stats,
this investment would be no less risky than ML Carr's long-term deal for
Pervis Ellison.

Like you and so many others, I can't figure out WHY Dallas even has such
leverage on this issue. Samaki is a free agent and injury-prone bench
warmer to whom management has made it clear they won't re-sign him. Look,
a free agent like Bruce Bowen is in an analogous situation (in terms of
average playing time and total value to team management) yet I kinda
doubt Boston is expecting a sign-and-trade offer any time soon for a
truly crowd-pleasing, workmanlike 17 ppg starting NBA shooting guard
who's signed through next season at just 2.8 million dollars or whatever.

I'd view this as a massive insult to Ron Mercer if Pitino tries to frame
this (thankfully hypothetical) trade by showcasing Samaki Walker and Ron
Mercer as the principles involved (while down-playing the future draft
pick). It just doesn't make enough sense. What's Pitino going to say? "We
knew Miami was ready to offer 2.5 million to sign Samaki, so we had no
choice but to pull the trigger"???

More and more, I also regard this rumor as just a matter of Wallace and
Pitino preparing the necessary details for a "Plan C". If everything else
in the works falls through, they will probably hold a vote on whether to
dump Mercer for a brittle Mavs' forward and a future draft pick, or wait
to sign and/or trade Mercer next Summer.


Joe