ESPN on deal

[peter delevett <pdelevett@amcity.com>]

David Aldridge: "Ask yourself: Why would a team desperate for help in the
middle trade its only legitimate big body for ... um ... Andrew DeClercq? If
you're the Cleveland Cavaliers, the answer is simple: the big body, Vitaly
Potapenko, had no intention of re-signing after the season. So said his agent,
David Falk. Yeah, the Cavs got a first-rounder from Boston, too. But there's
no guarantee that pick is going to bring them anything, and it certainly
doesn't help them this season."

On the other side ... ESPN's "Trade report card" gave Cleveland a B and Boston
a B-: "One bad haircut for another. Potapenko wanted Zydrunas Ilgauskas money
from the Cavs, which wasn't gonna happen. He won't get it from the Celtics,
either. The "Ukraine Train" is a bruiser who doesn't seem like a good fit in
Rick Pitino's scheme. DeClercq gives the Cavs another big body up front, and
the Cavs get a likely lottery pick at some point in the next three years."

Meanwhile, here are some comments from the Boston Globe:

"Cleveland coaches loved that Potapenko was comfortable in the weight room.
One assistant even said the center, who will be 24 in a week, is stronger than
Karl Malone.  ... Michael Holley says the team will try to lock up Potapenko
for a six year, $42 million deal today ... Pitino was asked if it hurt him to
give up the first-round pick, which the Cavs will most likely take this year.
''This team doesn't need more youth,'' he said."

Hey, you want to talk about bad trades: with the Sixers giving up on Tim
Thomas, here's what they got for dealing Keith Van Horn: Tyrone Hill and
Jerald Honeycutt. Eric Montross is gone; Jim Jackson became Joe Smith, who
also is gone. Compared to this, Billups for Anderson was a frigging stroke of genius.