Re: Losing Mercer

[Josh Ozersky <josh_ozersky@yahoo.com>]

This is what I've been saying all along.  If Samaki
Walker does his job and adds much-needed rebounding
and 2nd unit scoring to the team, and we add a top
young talent, and I think we'll be pleased with the
results.  Imagine adding an Andre Miller or Kerry
Kittles next year, or packaging the two picks together
to get a Brand or an Odom.  Or for that matter
packaging the pick with somebody on the team to get a
star.  Good post Alex!


--- Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu> wrote:
> In my mind, Mercer doesn't fit in with the Celtics
> lineup. 
> I can really imagine him excelling on a team with a
> bunch 
> of frontcourt thug rebounder/defenders and a good
> passing
> point guard - playing a role similar to Allen
> Iverson, but
> based on his smart use of picks as opposed to
> quickness
> and ability to break down his man. The thugs could
> set 
> magnificent picks for him and crash the boards after
> his 
> shot. Mercer really has a scalable game; you could
> give 
> him many more shots per game and his shooting
> percentage 
> would probably be roughly the same, because he uses
> picks 
> very well. It's actually a pretty rare ability. He
> certainly
> has the capability of being a primary or secondary
> scorer
> in this league. There are certainly teams in the
> league 
> who could really use a guy who puts the ball in the
> hoop 
> consistently (if not that efficiently). 
> 
> The problem is that he is not creating opportunities
> for his
> teammates; rather they are creating opportunities
> for him.
> This works well when you surround him with players
> whose
> talents lie in other directions that scoring. But
> when you
> have Pierce and Walker (and even Potapenko) it's not
> really
> clear that his major talent can be fully utilized.
> The Celtics
> could take Mercer's shots and distribute them among
> Pierce,
> Potapenko, Battie, and even Anderson (who shot a
> better 
> percentage and went to the line more than Mercer)
> and not
> lose too much scoring punch. So it makes sense for
> them to
> trade for a talent that doesn't need to shoot so
> much to be
> effective. That doesn't mean that Pitino should
> throw him
> away for nothing. But it explains why Pitino may not
> be so
> eager to sign him to a big money contract.
> 
> I suppose the Celtics could structure a second unit
> like I
> just described with Mercer as the "designated
> scorer". 
> Somehow paying $50-60M for that seems a bit strange
> though.
> I wonder if he could play a sixth man role similar
> to Toni
> Kukoc for the Bulls, but I think Kukoc could play
> effectively
> with both units due to his passing ability. I think
> Mercer
> has to be the primary or secondary option because
> he's most
> effective when you are running a specific play for
> him.
> 
> Alex
> 
> 

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