Re: It's a lie...a damn lie!

[Joe Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

Actually Josh, the reason I found the Bos3332 "trade" scenario much less
credible is in reaction to what you yourself posted earlier.

According to that article, Chris Ford and the Clips seems to have huge
plans for Maurice Taylor (as one would think they should!). Moreover, Ford
ought to be smart enough to know he can demand more these days for a
Lorenzen Wright (two 22 rebound games already in his career is not bad for
a mobile, fast break center) than a frankly unproven second-year guard who
1) isn't a passer (1.8 apg in 35+ mpg is probably one of the lowest
averages among all starting guards in the NBA); 2) can't shoot the three
(0 attempts); and 3) can't or for whatever reason won't create shots for
himself off the dribble within a half-court game. A straight up Taylor for
Mercer trade MIGHT make sense, but the proposed deal frankly sounds like a
"two-for-one giveaway" by the Clips, with cap junk taken off our hands on
top of everything (Greg Minor). It sounds to me like Chris Wallace is
taking advantage of a panicked and delirious loser organization. If the
Clips are really packaging those two highly coveted and very young big
guys, I'm pretty sure other NBA clubs would have offered them far more
proven talent in exchange by now.

Personally, I think all of us (including myself) have a little "Bob
Costas" guy inside us that makes us fascinated by the unlimited potential
of great jumpers like Ron Mercer. This is totally the "Michael Jordan
Syndrome".  In reality, I'll be willing to bet that 45 of the 50 "Greatest
Players in NBA History" were basically either average or below average
jumpers (not just Bird and Magic).

IMO, Ron Mercer COULD develop into a great three-point shooter and a solid
defender. He is a fantastic person to have in any team sport, and will
always play under control, calm and smart basketball. He can give your
team and the crowd a big lift in key moments.

But a huge difference (at this early stage) between a Ron Mercer and a
Reggie Lewis is that Mercer's game is still limited to the 18 foot shot
and the dunk, with a confounding blank space in between. (I thank other
list-members for making this observation).  Reggie Lewis obviously could
create his own shots in a half court offense, even with the clock running
down. At the end of last season (the last games I personally saw), Ron
Mercer could not or would not be a Reggie Lewis. He's going to need to
become that type of guy, though, because the non-scoring contributions of
his game are prosaic. The guy just is not a plus passer or rebounder.
Unlike Wright, Taylor and probably 50 other players who entered the league
in the past three seasons, Ron Mercer has never registered a single double
double. Don't be shy, Ron. It's time to step up.

But if other GMs are happy to trade us two highly coveted, hard to find,
guaranteed 30 minute-per-game contributing big men in exchange for "our
next Michael Jordan", then they can be my guest. My heart says keep Ron
Mercer as a Celtic lifer (I am on the record recently as saying he is my
favorite Boston Celtic!) but my head says close this deal fast before
someone else gets wind of it.

It's too good to be true, Josh.

***

Josh Ozersky wrote:

> I think the deal could well be true, for the following reasons: (snip)
>