Re: coaches

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

Last thing I say about this. I didn't like McCarty's signing. That
doesn't make Eric Williams a better player. Eric Williams has shown
that he can put up decent offensive stats on bad teams. But the truth 
is, Denver, a terrible team in need of a small forward, is playing a 
mediocre shooting guard Bryant Stith in front of Williams at small 
forward. And Williams will be on Denver's cap for 5 more years, at
over $4M per; with his higher and longer contract, he has more to 
prove than McCarty.

You are speculating about Radja. The facts are that there is not a
single team in the NBA that has felt that he was worth enough to
bring aboard. You seem to have some sort of idea that he would help
the Celtics even though it's evident that he won't help any other
team. And Larry Brown may have been suckered at first but at second
thought, he came to the same conclusion as everyone else; the fact
that he invalidated the trade proves my point, not yours.
 
> 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. 

My god, is Ellison anything but an underachiever? How can you say that 
he isn't? One good season? Let me guess: if it weren't for injuries, 
etc.etc. Some players actually recover from injuries. Ellison is an 
underachiever, no question.
 
> 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. 

I love it, Ellison the franchise player. If it was so "obvious" he was going
to be a potential franchise player, it's amazing that no other team offered
him a huge contract. 

The point of evaluating personnel is not to look back at a player's
best year and signing that player in the vain hope that he can regain
that. It is to predict how the player will contribute over the length
of his tenure with the team. Ellison is a complete failure in that 
regard, regardless of whether he had a good season a long time ago.

Anyways, I'm not going to continue this topic because arguing the merits
of losers like Eric Williams (bench player for DENVER), Dino Radja (not 
even in the NBA), and Pervis Ellison (completely useless as a Celtic) 
isn't worth the time. Your speculation about what Radja could do if
he were in the NBA, or what Williams could do if he didn't suck right
now, or what Ellison could do if he ever actually played, is no more
valid than any speculation that McCarty could be Most Improved next
year or that Popeye could lead the league in offensive rebounding. 
McCarty and Popeye (and Eric Williams) could end up being good signings 
or terrible signings and we'll know in a few years. I'm not sold on
either of them (McCarty in particular), like you, but I'm glad that 
they're only three year signings at least. I think Pervis has already 
proven without a doubt that he was a bad signing unless he somehow 
turns in an MVP season next year.

Alex