Gloomy Peter May On WEEI

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

Here's what he said:

On the Celtics: He thinks they're going to be better, but how much
better.
They won't go by New Jersey, but they'll pass Washington.

On Mercer: He thinks they'll re-sign him, and then be way over the cap,
and capped out for a long time.

On Battie: They're building him up into a good player and then trading
him.  

On Potapenko: They're a better team with Potapenko, but having a lottery
pick has its benefits.  As many teams as there are like C's who are
trying 
to get old, there's a bunch of other clubs trying to get young.

On Potapenko II: Pitino fought like the darndest not to give up the
pick,
but conceded it at the last minute.  He's doing a great job of spin
control concerning the draft, and the C's non-need of another young
player.

Salary Cap: C's have 12 players under guaranteed contract next season =
$40 million dollars = at least $6 million over the cap.

On Pitino's screaming: Larry Bird is the antithesis of Pitino's constant 
screaming.  May says he could never play with someone constantly
yelling,
and thinks players tune that stuff out.

On Calipari: All the NJ players hated him - Calipari is represenative of
college
coaches who need to have complete control.

On Pitino as a college coach: Much better there, than in the Pros. He
will not
last out his Celtics contract.

On the ML piece: He's wonders if it wasn't a deliberate shot across the
bow
that had come from Gaston: "A very well rehearsed shot across the bow."
Gaston 's paying a lot of money and expects a bigger bang for his buck.
Ml isn't all that visible among the current group of players, so why
would
he be in a position to voice the complaints that he did.

On Rick leaving: There's some belief that Pitino 
issued his statement about making the playoffs next year,
as a way of having an out.

So, May's not too excited about the Celtics.  We'll just have to see how
Pitino 
performs this summer as a GM, before lowering the coffin lid on his
Celtics
tenure.  Pitino is certainly backed into a corner however.  Disappointed
owner,
no cap space, a need to re-sign Mercer - but if he does the C's nuke
their
future cap flexibility, and has self-proclaimed that the C's will make
the 
playoffs next season in an Eastern Conference with teams like Charlotte
rapidly improving.  But, look at Dan Duquette.  He rose from a Public
Relations nightmare 
to make the Bosox the talk of baseball.  So, resurrection is possible.
Ray