Re: Pitino Changes Tune

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

> I'm not sure this is true.  I think it's more of an Antoine-specific
> issue, where Pitino has finally realized Walker isn't a power forward.
> Something, a lot of us have been pointing out since Antoine's been here.

Pitino thought of Antoine as a small forward when he first arrived in 
Boston. It's been documented; for instance, Eric Williams was told that
his role would be as Walker's backup at small forward. He turned him 
into a power forward when he realized that the Celtics didn't have 
anyone else to do the job. 

>  > I think it is imperative for the second unit to add a steady scorer,
> > whether it be a Mercer, Pierce or someone else. 
> 
> Pitino has already pooh-poohed the idea of bringing one of the young
> stars
> off the bench.  Of course, he's prone to changing his mind, but the
> scorer
> coming off the bench may be whatever Clipper the C's receive in return
> for
> Kenny Anderson, possibly Rodney Rogers, who I think is playing well as
> of
> late.  

The scorer off the bench can be a cheaper veteran that plays 18-22 minutes
a game. The thing about making one of the young stars a sixth man is that
you are not going to get full playing value out of them for the money you
are going to pay. 

Alex