Trade thoughts

["Alexander Wang" <alexander_c_wang@hotmail.com>]

- I am happy to see that we received some value for Fortson rather
than having him walk away for nothing to a division rival (Knicks),
overpaying him to stay with a team that he clearly did not fit on,
or taking on bad long-term contracts. It sure looks a lot better
to me than Vinny Del Negro.

- The first rounder is probably going to be low but still has
decent trade value. I would guess that we won't keep it, not because
of the guaranteed contract, but because there won't be room for three
rookies, and we'll want to use it to sweeten a deal. If Pack can
contribute for any substantial portion of the season, it's a bonus
in my mind. The loss of Barros won't hurt the team much. He was
handy for the late-game designated 3 and as a backup point when we
didn't have anything better. Otherwise his size made him a defensive
liability.

- In terms of the Portland trade: I think the price is way too steep
in a proposed Pierce/Potapenko for J. O'Neal/Wells deal. I do think
that a Potapenko and draft picks for O'Neal type of deal could be
both fair and good for both teams. First, Portland has a very narrow
window of opportunity because of the age of some key players such
as Pippen. In addition, their main focus is very clear: they need to
beat the Lakers. Jermaine O'Neal isn't going to help them do that
because he's young and not thick enough. Vitaly has the bulk and
shooting range to be a better matchup as a backup. Furthermore
Portland plays a slow halfcourt offense that probably isn't suited
for a guy like O'Neal. Finally O'Neal is fed up with his lack of
playing time in Portland which is probably the primary reason he's
even available. On the other hand the Celtics play in the Eastern
Conference where the center competition is less huge. The coach has
the personnel and desire to play uptempo. O'Neal would get his 35
minutes a night.

- If we were giving up Pierce, I think we could get more - perhaps
Stoudamire and Kenny Anderson could be added to even things out.
Stoudamire hasn't fared well in Portland but it's another situation
where he'd probably be much better on practically any other team.
The offense there isn't right for him. He doesn't match up well
against the Lakers' new big guard system. On the Celtics, I'd guess
that his scoring and assist averages would come close to the ones
he had in Toronto - 19 and 9.

- Anyway, our lineup right now looks like:

Starting lineup
C: Potapenko
PF: Walker
SF: Griffin (Moiso?)
SG: Pierce
PG: Anderson

Bench
C/PF: Battie
C: Blount
C/PF/SF: Moiso
PF/SF: McCarty
SF: Williams
SG: Cheaney
PG: Brown
PG: Pack

Injured Reserve
Hot Rod, Minor

One more guy from the bench will end up on IR - perhaps McCarty.

Alex
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