Re:

[peter delevett <pdelevett@amcity.com>]

>From the Celtics Message List:  "going down now".  A three way job: 
Mercer to Phoenix; Chapman, McCarty, Popeye and Celts #1 (2000) to
Denver; Fortson and #9 this year to Celts.
 

No disrespect meant to anyone, but what an idiotic trade. We give up Mercer,
Popeye, McCarty and a #1 pick for Danny Fortson and a pick that will probably
end up being someone like Jonathan Bender, William Avery, Jason Terry or
Radojevic--second-tier lottery picks? No thank you very much. Mercer, as even
his detractors admit, has star potential, and Popeye can help if he comes back
healthy. I am not a big Fortson fan -- remember that whatever he accomplished
this season was done playing alongside Antonio McDyess. The man can't jump
over a phone book.

May I issue one last plea for sanity here? Unless and until I see Ron Mercer
directly quoted as saying he won't re-up with Boston or sign for less than the
maximum, I just do not understand this rush to trade him. The Celtics roster
has been a revolving door since Pitino arrived. That is the sign of a bad
team! Look at the lousy teams that are in the lottery every single year -- the
Clippers, the Warriors, the Mavericks ... The biggest single reason they end
up there year after year: massive and continual roster turnover. No
consistency, no chance for chemistry. Flawed, quick-fix thinking. Just look at
the teams who are winning rings and making sustained playoff runs year after
year: veteran squads that have retained their core pieces season after season,
with only minor tinkering around the edges.

Bottom line: If Pitino's Celtics are constantly rebuilding, trading major
pieces for rookies or mediocre vets, this will always remain a crappy team.

I agree wholeheartedly with Jim Hill's post: Kenny A. has a much better chance
of taking us to the playofs this year than a rookie point, even Miller or
Davis (if we could even get them). Let's start the season with the roster we
have and see how they work given a full training camp. It's not like their
trade value will suddenly drop if we wait a few months -- in fact, if they
come back in and play well, it might even improve.