Re: what does Grant to Heat mean to Celtics?

[Joe Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

Hi:
    I also think Fortson may eventually sign with Knicks too on a wink-wink
one-year deal to avoid the hassles of a sign-and-trade (Chris Wallace doesn't
give the impression that he is working that hard on it anyway). I'm not sure why
Fortson would consider Golden State, since on paper he has as good a chance of
starting on the Knicks roster. Plus performing well for Golden State won't add to
his future value, since the Warriers are a cruddy team.

    To borrow a metaphor, Fortson is a player who constantly attacks the rim as
though it were sitting up there bad-mouthing his momma. On loose balls in the
air, he has hands like Nomar Garciaparra. Great hands, great positioning on the
shot release, great natural instincts too with numbers that speak for themselves.
Unlike other "animal" rebounders (Ben Wallace, Jamie Feick etc.) Fortson's been
nailing his freethrows and showing good offensive moves and shot selection his
entire life (broke Oscar Robertson's scoring record). Fortson would be a nice
change of pace for Camby, just as Camby would be a great change of pace for
Ewing. Both of those two are gimpy anyway, while Fortson is still young. I think
he has a very decent chance to play in New York.

    In general, the 6-11 athletic, center-forward (as opposed to the new age
Garnett/Bender/Swift/McCarty 6-11 perimeter players) has always been the most
overrated asset in the NBA, in my opinion. It is the kind of tweener
(guard/forward and point/off guard are the others) with a spectacular failure
rate but not nearly the baggage you'd expect.  Battie, Moiso, Keon Clark are the
latest skinny 6-11 leapers in a pretty long line of similar guys who fit this
profile perfectly yet could never be counted on to guard stockier power forwards,
much less centers. From that body-type, John "Long Tall" Salley was probably one
of the best there ever was, yet he was an 8th man at his peak.

    For the sake of argument you can try to lump guys like McHale and Kevin
Willis in that center-forward category, but those guys weren't drafted for their
jaw-dropping athleticism and mobility but for their singular, exceptional skills.
Even if you did count these guys, the success rate of 6-11 tweeners at the power
forward position is low relative to their high draft position. Most of these 6-11
lottery picks were such busts that it is hard to even remember the names.

--------

Theresa Lee wrote:

> The Knicks need him to shore up their frontcourt. Pat is always hurt and
> Camby is skinny and gets hurt once or twice a year as well. Also, they
> probably figure 'Zo and Shaq are two obstacles that they have to go through
> to get the ring so Forston could provide some extra fouls, body space in
> the lane on those two. He's relatively cheap and a big body. He is a
> rebounding animal and properly used (you know that they don't think Pitino
> used him properly), he could be a huge ass-et in NY.
>
> Theresa
>
> >Anyway, if this trade goes down-and it sounds like it will-it could have
> >implications for the Celtics. The Knicks suddenly figure to become much more
> >interested in Danny Fortson (although I don't understand their interest in
> >the guy to begin with).