Re: coaches

[KK <Kestutis.Kveraga@Dartmouth.EDU>]

Alex Wang wrote:
> Based on Eric
> Williams' performance over the season, he is a major bust. And McCarty's
> stats are comparable to Williams', at a signifantly lower price. (I think
> that McCarty's extension was a mistake but it's incomprehensible to me
> that you're still defending Williams).

Williams averaged 15 points (46% FG, 75% FT) and 4.6 rebounds his last
season with Boston. He started off last year at 19.8 ppg before coming down
with the injury. I agree that he's had a bad year, but even so, he, unlike
McCarty, is a real offensive weapon, in the low post no less. McCarty has
cracked the 40% FG shooting mark only once - in '97-'98 at 40.4%. More than
the sheer numbers, though, McCarty leaves the impression of a stupid
(basketball-wise) player, who doesn't understand the game very well. Given
the fact that he's supposedly been one of Pitino's exemplary students for 6
years, it doesn't recommend well either his learning, or Pitino's teaching,
abilities, or both.

Their career stats:
Williams:
11.9 pts., 3.6 rbs., 1.4 ass., .89 steals, 43.7% FG, 73% FT in 27 mpg

McCarty:

6.9 pts. 3.4 rbs., 1.5 ass., .95 steals, 39.5% FG, 72.5% FT in 21 mpg
 

> If Radja were worth $2.5M/year in the NBA, some NBA team would have paid him
> that amount after our buyout.


You're assuming a perfectly balanced NBA labor market. By this reasoning,
every player in the NBA is getting paid exactly what he's worth, and only
those that are worthy of being in the NBA are playing here. I think the
issues with Radja were his alleged health problems (FUD trumped up by Brown
to void the trade and stick it to Boston) and the never-far-from-his-heart
desire to go back to Europe. The very fact that Larry Brown initially traded
for Radja at his full salary indicates that Dino *did* have value in the
NBA. My point is simply that he could have helped us in the needed areas at
only additional $2.5M per year. 


> Let's use similar reasoning on Kenny Anderson. Kenny Anderson is a proven NBA
> point guard who has shown he can average 18.8 ppg and 9.6 apg and be an
> All-Star starter. 

True enough. The difference is, Ellison's problem is injuries; Kenny's
problem is that he's an underachiever. I'm sure he's perfectly *physically*
capable of achieving the said level, if only he could be persuaded to apply
himself. 

> This is significantly more accurate than your assessment
> of Ellison; does anybody believe that once Ellison gets over his injuries,
> that he'll be a 20 ppg, 10 rpg shotblocker. Give me a break. 

I was not talking about NOW, I was talking about what spurred M.L. to sign
him 4 years ago. 
Still, I believe that if (that's a humongous IF) he ever got reasonably
healthy, he would be a great 25 mpg backup C/F.


> Beyond that,
> by this reasoning we should also be praising Pitino's signing of Popeye
> Jones because he is a double-double performer and one of the top rebounders
> in the league. 

First, as should be obvious, Popeye is not, and will never be, at Ellison's
level. He's a capable workhorse-type player when  healty, which is fine, but
not in the same class. Comparing the two is like comparing Ewing and Oakley
- both excellent at what they do, but one's a franchise player, the other a
role player. Second, we may still praise Pitino if Popeye delivers what we
thought he could. I'm not blasting Pitino for this move - I only oppose
blasting M.L. for signing Ellison, for he did the exact same thing as
Pitino.
 
> And a major difference between the McCarty and Popeye Jones signings and
> ML Carr's signings are the lengths of the contracts. If they are busts,
> they'll be off the cap in a couple years, rather than strangling us for
> most of the next decade.

Well, I'm not a "capologist", and don't know whether it's better to have,
say, $2M/yr for 6 years or $3M/yr for 4 years on your salary cap. I guess it
depends on each particular signing. It's true that Ellison's contract was
longish (6 years), but it was only $2M/yr. If he'd worked out, it would've
been a steal. It's hard to justify some of M.L.'s other signings, though.