potapenko, etc.

[mberry@journalink.com (Mark Berry)]

Hi all. Haven't weighed in on the trade yet because I've been out of the office 
for a week. I covered NCAA basketball in Indianapolis last Thursday and Saturday 
and the Celtics-Pacers Sunday, so I've seen some good basketball lately.

I like the trade. This guy isn't an all-star, but don't you think he compares 
favorably to Matt Geiger, Bryant Reeves, Luc Longley, Greg Ostertag, Ike Austin 
or Eric Dampier, all considered second-tier centers? And he's better than many 
lesser centers. He's under 25, so he'll grow with this team.

And on the court, he's a huge upgrade. He's not a shot-blocker and never has 
been a great rebounder (although I think someone on the list really made a good 
point about his ability to clear space). But he's an effective one-on-one 
defender, something the Celts desperately have been lacking. Pitino focused on 
VP's one-on-one defense against Smits (he took 21 shots to get his 28 points), 
pointing out that it helped the other players defend their men by not double-
teaming.

The free agent market is dry this offseason, and we don't have enough money to 
spend anyway. We pick up a starting center without giving up any of our four key 
players. I like Andrew too, but not enough to pass up a starting center just to 
hold onto him. And the draft pick? If it's not in the top 3, it's likely to be 
in the 10-12 range because we're going to win more games down the stretch. The 
schedule lets up and Vitaly makes us a better team. The last thing we need is 
another marginal player (from a weak draft) on the cap for the next five years. 
If we luck into Lamar Odom, Wally Szczerbiak or Barron Davis (my top three, in 
no particular order) then great. If not, nothing lost.

I'm an optimist when it comes to the Celtics. M.L. handcuffed this team for 
years with bad contracts for Dana, Minor, Pervis and Dino, making the Celts non-
factors in free agency. I think Pitino has done a remarkable job putting 
together a pretty good starting five considering those handicaps.

Still hoping for a playoff push, 

Mark