Re: Rodney Rogers?

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

I think the relevant question for the Celtics is, will Rogers contribute
more PER DOLLAR than Battie? Battie may be a more important contributor
than Rogers but if you are a team on a budget and you have a choice between
Battie at 6y/$50M and Rogers at $3y/8M, say, you may go for Rogers. 
Depending on what contract Battie asks for, his value could range from
great to worthless. 

Honestly I don't know much about Rogers but my impression is that he has
some scoring ability in the post, whereas Battie gets his points through
putback jams and short jumpers, so Rogers may fill a role as an inside 
scorer for the second unit. Currently the second unit's offense features 
jump shots from Bruce Bowen and Walter McCarty.

Overall, my feeling is that this trade makes less sense now than it did 
at the trading deadline. Battie has shown improvement since and Pitino 
has gushed about him. The team has invested more time and resources
into him. A midseason trade would have made more sense because the Celtics
could have had a free look at Rogers before paying him as well as had a 
chance to work with him through offseason camps and the summer league. 
My feeling is that we'll be able to get Rogers for less than Battie at
this point - either for the $2M exception, or through a sign-and-trade
with a lesser player, perhaps Barros.

Alex
 
P.S. The Mashburn rumors are unfair, because there is no evidence that 
Pitino has ever tried to trade for Mashburn. Even if he had, there's
no evidence that he offered anything of real value. 



> Is there anybody on this list who thinks Rogers will be a better player
> than Battie in two or three years? Does anybody think Rodney is that much
> better than Tony now? What exactly does Rogers do that Battie can't? This
> team needs a big man who can defend the rim. Which player does that better?
> Is everybody convinced Battie won't be a better offensive player than
> Rogers? I know I've gone on and on all year about El Busto, and no, he's
> not a "saviour"....but he did develop as the season went on and with
> another year of work, who knows? Rogers is a certifiable
> disappointment/semi-stiff. I keep reading the words "Celtics," "Mashburn,"
> and "Rogers" in the same sentence, and I can't help but think Pitino is in
> some kind of time-warp. These players aren't in college anymore, Rick.
> 
> Paul M.
> 
> 
> 
>