repost

[Robert Bowman <rbow@mn.mediaone.net>]

hey all, i decided to repost this. original posting date was 8/27/00:


let me add my own 2 cents from a 45 yr old fan who remembers the celtics
from
russell's days: (remember this was in august, originally)

i reserve my judgement until seeing the team play but based on last
season, what's transpired since, and all the talk and speculation this
summer here are a few comments/observations i'd like to air:

this is pitino's last chance to put up or shut up (duh). when he was
first hired i was optimistic given his reputation and accomplishments. i

was enthusiastic because i trusted his abilities as a coach and as an
evaluator of talent. as we can now see, he's proven himself in neither
area with the celtics. i honestly want the man to succeed and bring
banners to boston but i doubt he will.  unquestionably there is talent
on this team, as there is on all nba teams, but there is not enough
talent to win a championship.  what needs to be done? mngmnt needs to
focus on who they think they can build around and then figure out how to

get him/them. i think that anyone could see back 4, 5 yrs. ago that shaq

was the free agent to get. if you followed that transaction you know it
was doubtful many times if the lakers would actually get him, as a
matter of fact it got down to the very end before west got his man. shaq

almost resigned with the magic but west kept pushing trying to figure it

all out and he never gave up. now if you're pitino and one of the
reasons why you came to boston was because you thought you'd get duncan
why didn't you plan ahead and figure out a way to get duncan when he
became a free agent? (i'd like to hear an answer to that one)  given
their history and tradition i refuse to believe that the celtics can't
get big name free agents to come play for them. mngmnt needs to come up
with a short list of players they can build around, free up the cap
space to get 1 or 2 of them, and then trade for or sign him/them. we can

get into all the ins and outs of the cap but its mngmnt's job to figure
it out. now i can believe that there may be players who don't want to
play for pitino same as there's guys who don't want to play for other
coaches. that's why i think that after this year, if things don't turn
around, the gastons should just sell the team. would they sell to larry?

can larry work a deal? i assume the answer to #2 is yes. i also believe
public opinion can help force the gastons to complete a deal. what will
larry bring as owner? he'd bring the same traits he's exhibited as a
player and coach: determnation, hard work, and creativity among others.
i think larry would be an excellent evaluator of talent and someone who
current players would respect and listen to. i see him as an eventual
successor to jerry west as the best gm in the game with the added label
of part owner, apparently the one thing west wanted but never got in la.

at this point i don't see how the celtics can sink much lower. i
personally am disgusted with the current situation. whenever basketball
comes up in conversation and i say i'm a celtics fan...well, it's
almost, in some people's minds, akin to saying i'm a clippers fan. of
course i always stick up for the celtics but i'd rather the team
represent itself on the court. so, given the current state of affairs, i

trust the fate of the celtics to larry bird who saved the day in the
80's as a player and who can do it again now as part of mngmnt.

the current roster probably has 3 or 4 players who could be members of a

championship team. however, i don't think any of these 3 or 4 are the
main ingredients. pierce can probably be the #2 or 3 guy and same goes
possibly for walker. ask yourself, who would either of these guys
replace as starters on the bird/parrish/mchale teams or the
russell/havlicek/jones boys teams? probably pierce could be the 2 guard
replacing danny or gerald. at his current level of play and fitness
walker would be a 6th or 7th man on both teams, at best. my point:
there's not a high enough level of talent on this team to be serious
contenders. (see above as to how to acquire talent.)  the current team
does have assets: 3 first round picks, pierce, and apparently to a
lesser extent walker. we haven't found too many takers for any of the
other players. there's probably a couple of other guys: battie, moiso,
et al who with the right coaching could develop into solid players. it's

mngmnt's job to figure all that out too.

conclusion: 1) sell to bird. 2) evaluate who to keep and who to get and
do it. 3) teach, coach, play, win. simple? sounds like it. easy to do? i

know that even with larry at the helm things aren't going to magically
happen and voila,we're winning the championship but i think we'd have a
better chance of seeing it happen than with the current group and i
think as fans that's the least we want: the hope of getting better each
season until our goal is accomplished. so here's to what could be
pitino's last year. do i want him to fail? no, i'd love to see him make
all his detractors (me among others) shut up because that would mean the

celtics are back. but i also don't think he's the guy that's gonna get
it done. i don't wish him any ill will, as a matter of fact i wish him
well...back in the college game. some guys are pro coaches and some are
college coaches and there's nothing wrong with either.