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http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/214/sports/Pitino_s_refurbishing_dribbles_along+.shtml

Pitino's refurbishing dribbles along


By Michael Holley, Globe Columnist, 8/1/2000


For most of July, he whispered NBA sweet talk into the ears of players
who usually don't hear it. Rick Pitino found himself saying incredibly
nice things to and about Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Randy Brown, and Bimbo
Coles. Those guys hadn't heard themselves described so kindly since
their last family reunions.


Pitino has spent this summer - his fourth in Boston - trying to reshape
the Celtics. If this were interior decorating, the team's president and
head coach wouldn't have the resources for Crate & Barrel. More likely,
he'd be scouring neighborhoods for salvageable throwaway furniture.


In the next 48 hours, Pitino will receive a few more reminders of how
tough his job is. The Orlando Magic will sign Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady,
and, possibly, Maurice Taylor. The Celtics will be pleased if backup
point guards Coles or Brown ask them to dance. Asked yesterday if he
found such a disparity frustrating, Pitino said that he didn't. General
manager Chris Wallace agreed.


In a small way, I can see what they mean. Jerry Krause, for example,
spent July standing in front of a $19 million pile and asking the NBA,
''Who wants to be a millionaire?'' All the Chicago Bulls general manager
heard were echoes. Even though Krause put the Bulls in position to be
$19 million under the salary cap, he quickly discovered that his
derisive nickname (courtesy of Michael Jordan) matched his record of
drawing free agents: Crumbs. It's one thing not to spend because you
don't have money; not being able to spend because no one wants your
money is pathetic.


So at least the Celtics were not Kraused in July. Abdul-Wahad wanted to
play here. Coles or Brown may wind up here. Ron Mercer left here
seething, thinking that the Celtics erroneously told him that Denver was
going to sign him to a $71 million contract, but he would like to play
here, too.


''I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of players who were excited
about the Boston Celtics,'' Pitino said. ''At times, I felt like I was
back at Kentucky recruiting.''


The difference is that Pitino usually got the players he wanted at
Kentucky. If Abdul-Wahad and Coles were high school seniors and Pitino
were still in Lexington, Ky., he wouldn't think about recruiting them.
Now, for his 37-win team to get better, he needs them. There is nothing
else he can do. If the Celtics are going to make the playoffs, this is
the team that's going to take them there. Antoine Walker, Paul Pierce,
Vitaly Potapenko, and, maybe, Randy Brown.


Although he probably wouldn't mind trading Walker at this point, Pitino
can't do it in good conscience. There are two other teams in the league,
Miami and Indiana, that believe Walker could be an All-Star with them.
The problem is that when they talk trade with the Celtics, they don't
offer a fair return. The Pacers would have loved to OK the swap of
Austin Croshere - believed to be on the verge of a $50 million contract
- for Walker. But Croshere wouldn't have consented to the deal, and
neither would the Celtics.


In essence, Walker will be here. If he made $6 million per season rather
than $12 million, he'd be gone by now. You don't have to ask Pitino if
he is concerned about Walker. It's obvious. It was obvious to 500
teenagers in Pittsburgh last month at a Five-Star basketball camp at
Robert Morris College. Pitino was speaking to campers and their coaches
when he riffed into a Walker anecdote:


''I have a guy on my team by the name of Antoine Walker who has the
ability to be one of the five best players in the NBA. But he isn't,
because he has never developed his skill level. He plays basketball 24
hours a day and will run full-court games every chance he gets, but it
doesn't help him improve because he has no routine. You have to develop
a routine and work hard on improving your skill level.''


The teen hoopers probably didn't expect an Antoine Rip to be a part of
their camp package, but it truly wasn't about them. The coach has Walker
on the brain. Pitino's legacy in Boston will be determined by the
24-year-old forward. Pitino also knows that there will be playoff
vacancies in the Eastern Conference this season. Detroit, missing Hill,
will be a CBA team. Toronto and Charlotte may slip out of the playoffs,
too.


''What we need is for him to get back where he was my first year here,''
Pitino said of Walker's lone All-Star year, 1998. ''We need him to be in
the best shape of his life. This year, we can't be in good shape. We
have to be in great shape. It's important for us to get back to our
athleticism. That's why we drafted [Jerome] Moiso.''


Allegedly, Paul Gaston gave Pitino and Wallace a directive. He said he
wanted them to be aggressive in July (although I wonder how the owner
expected them to be aggressive when he was not willing to spend far over
the cap). This gave some fans the impression that there would be a major
green-and-white reconstruction. But this is the reality: The aggression
will have to come from, essentially, the same characters.


Pitino said Tony Battie will have to be a defensive presence, as will
Pierce. Walker will have to be better. Someone is going to have to
rebound if Danny Fortson leaves. Someone - Mark Blount? - will have to
become a shot-blocker.


A major trade? Unlikely.


''We get the most calls about Pierce and [Adrian] Griffin,'' Pitino
said. ''One reason is that teams love their contracts.'' But, the coach
said, ''I don't want to trade either of them.''


To his credit, Pitino is trying to stock his team with the right type of
players. I still can't believe Brown (whom I love as a backup) is only
6-2 because, as Wallace says, ''If there was ever a guy who's a `big'
6-2, he's it.'' Griffin played hurt last year and never used it as an
excuse. Pierce can be one of the league's best swingmen.


But on Aug. 1, the opening of the NBA's signing frenzy, look at the
players the Celtics add. Now look at their competition. Pitino and
Wallace say they aren't frustrated by this contrast. I have a hard time
believing them.