Re: Mercer worth gamble Issel took in trade

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

> What does Mercer think of Anderson's rude, reckless evaluation? Stupid is as 
> stupid does.
> 
> "What you need to know about Kenny Anderson is the only reason people 
> interview him is because he says stupid stuff ... There's always something 
> stupid that comes out of his mouth and makes a headline," Mercer said. "Kenny
> is one of those guys who has a lot of pressure on him in Boston, so he has to
> say something negative about somebody else to cover his own butt. I'm smart 
> enough to know what Kenny is doing, but he's dumb enough not to see it." 
> 
> Hear the edge in his voice, and you start to understand Mercer brings a 
> tired-of-losing competitiveness the Nuggets have long sought. 

So when Kenny Anderson complains about Mercer being selfish, he's being
"rude" and "reckless", but when Mercer calls Anderson a moron, he's 
being "competitive"? I guess "rude, reckless" Charles Barkley owes 
"competitive" Scottie Pippen an apology by these standards.

I tend to believe Kenny here because of what Mercer's agent said also,
about Mercer being able to average 25+ ppg if he wasn't sacrificing his
shots for the sake of the team.

> "Mercer is a slasher. We haven't had a slasher in Denver, a player who can 
> get the the hoop, since when? Fat Lever?" Issel said. "Mercer can really 
> handle the ball. He can get to the hoop, and he's a better outside shooter 
> than most people know." 

Man, I wish he could have done some slashing when he was in Boston. How 
many NBA shooting guards got to the line as little as Mercer did this
past season (with 1 FT attempt every 7 FG attempts)? 

I think it's pretty evident that Mercer didn't get along with his 
teammates too well on the court. Anderson is obvious. Walker also seemed 
down about the fact that Mercer had taken over as the first offensive
option. Pitino mentioned Mercer's lack of "Celtic pride" on his show
and criticized him for taking too many shots off the screen. 

It's amazing how Fortson is discarded by this columnist as "next to
nothing" after he averaged some pretty huge numbers for Denver especially
in the late season.

Alex