Re: what does Grant to Heat mean to Celtics?

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

Yeah, you make a good point and are right in what you say. But the thing is that
GM's are with good reason wary about all other classic 'tweener categories like
the one you focus on (the 6-7 or even 6-8 college power forward) and the 6-2
shooting guard category (Sam Vincent etc) yet they keep on getting seduced by
6-11 skinny guys with good measurables in terms of athleticism but who can't
hold ground in the paint and eventually only give you 6 rebounds per game or
worse.

In terms of productivity, teams are better off with a guy who is tall enough
(6-8 and above), has a thick base and who's play isn't defined by athleticism
but by hunger. But the fact is a lot of GMs these days would still draft an
unproven 6-11 super athletic, leaper over a productive college player with a
Charles Oakley or Karl Malone physique.

On the other hand, you are right about McDyess fitting the athletic, skinny,
"center-forward" category (I should have included him). Aside from being skinny
and reasonably tall, Ratliff and Camby also both had a demonstrable skill
(shotblocking) that was readily apparent in college.  But so did Battie and Tim
Perry and a lot of other names not really worth trying to remember. As for
Moiso, you have a 6 rebound 1.7 blocks guy who is two years older at 22 than
Antoine or Pierce were when they entered the NBA. Battie's not a bust yet. His
pro numbers so far are roughly twice as good as Jermaine O'Neil's or Al
Harrington or Jonathan Benders and he's only a few years older.  I guess my
point is that all these guys will keep getting second or third chances (unlike
other tweeners). I'm not complaining. I'm just stating a fact.

Moiso could work out well for Boston without question, but basically we are
putting faith above all in Pitino's teaching ability and Moiso's flashy
one-on-one workouts. And if Moiso develops the habits of other Pitino-taught
players (Walker, McCarty, Mashburn in his youth) then in no time you'll have a
guy jacking up threes and shooting .400 from the field.

Boston is going into next season with an 8.0 rebound guy (Walker) and a bunch of
role players that give you 6.0 boards per game. Double-figure rebounders don't
grow on trees. If you're lucky enough to have one, I say don't worry if he's not
as tall as a super model. They come in all shapes and sizes...and you rarely
develop one over time through teaching and experience.  It is hard to believe
Battie, Moiso, Potapenko, Griffin (the best of the lot) will get there
eventually.

Unless Moiso is a much more consistent and productive player than Battie (even
for me, hope springs eternal), the Celtics go into next season lousier on paper
than last year's 37 win team.

--------

"Berry, Mark S" wrote:

> I'd argue the success rate for undersized, unathletic power forwards is even
> lower, Joe. Fortson, Corliss Williamson, Tractor Traylor, Kenny Thomas,
> Kenny Walker, John Thomas, Rodney Rogers (coming around), Randy Woods, Byron
> Houston, just to name a few. And you can't just discount Garnett, Bender and
> Swift. McCarty was a late first-round pick, so I'd say expectations for him
> were pretty low to begin with. And ask Milwaukee right now if they would
> rather have Keon Clark (or Jermaine O'Neal) or Tractor Traylor. Plus, you're
> forgetting guys like Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Theo Ratliff and
> Shawn Kemp, and discounting the value of a guy like Camby. You dismiss
> Camby, yet I've seen his name linked to Brian Grant and Kemp this
> season-while Fortson is worth little more than Chris Childs or Vinny Del
> Negro (in other words, he's worth more to the C's if he just walks). There's
> a reason Pitino traded him for Alvin Williams and Sean Marks-it was the best
> offer he had, and it still beats any offer we've seen to this point.
>
> Generalizations are dangerous. Has Battie been a bust? Yes. Has Tractor
> Traylor? Yes. Does that say anything about the success or failure of players
> of their body types? Not at all.
>
> Mark