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BSG's thoughts on the trade + readers' replies
WWW.BOSTONSPORTSGUY.COM
1ST POSTING, 11:00pm, 2/9
CELTS TRADE FORTSON
Quick thoughts on Boston's bizarre trade with
Toronto... plus, vote & sound off on the deal!
Only your buddy Sports Guy could write a 700,000-word column about all the
various Danny Fortson trade possibilities without mentioning the deal that actually
happened.
In case you missed it, the Celtics traded Danny Fortson tonight to Toronto -- who
weren't one of the ten teams on my "potential destinations" list from Tuesday's
column -- in exchange for point guard Alvin Williams and backup center/stiff Sean
Marks. Williams immediately becomes Boston's new backup point guard; as for
Marks, he was included in the deal because the C's needed a new token white guy.
Needless to say, I'm completely flustered by this whole thing. I actually attended the
Celts game tonight and noticed that Fortson was missing from the bench, so I
assumed he might have been dealt. At halftime I found a pay phone and called my
Dad; we had the following exchange:
Me -- Did they trade Fortson?
Dad -- Yeah, to Toronto.
Me -- Toronto? For who?
Dad -- That williams guy
Me -- Alvin Williams?
Dad -- Yeah.
Me -- Wait... he sucks.
Dad -- I know.
Me -- Did they get a #1 at least?
Dad -- No.
Me -- That's it? That was the whole deal?
Dad -- Yeah.
Then I went back to my seat and sulked for the rest of the game. Seriously.
I just don't get it... we knew the Celts needed to trade Fortson, but this was the best
they could do? Williams couldn't even get starting minutes in Toronto for the past
two seasons, a team so desperate for a point guard that they've actually been playing
Muggsy Bogues at crunch time this year. Meanwhile, Fort was the 4th-leading
rebounder in the league last year. Does this make sense to anyone???
Some answers to a few burning questions:
1. Was this honestly the best offer the Celts received?
Somehow I doubt it. In fact, the Raptors will almost certainly re-package Fortson in
a bigger deal for a starting point guard... someone better than Alvin Williams.
(Note; Ask yourself this question: is it easier to find a proven rebounder or a backup
point guard in the NBA these days?)
2. What's the deal with Williams' contract?
It runs through 2001 at $2 million per season. Fortson's contract expires at the end
of this season.
3. Wasn't Williams a highly-regarded young player at one point?
Actually, he was -- Toronto refused to trade Damon Stoudamire to Portland two
years ago unless Williams was included in the deal. He's 6-foot-5, he's fast and
athletic, his defense seems solid... unfortunately, he can't shoot from the outside or
run a basketball team. Maybe Pitino thinks he's the perfect point guard for the
second unit because of his size and athleticism. Who knows? I'd like Williams in
green if we gave up a 2nd-rounder for him... but Danny Fortson???
4. What are Williams' lifetime stats?
They're not too impressive...
Year G Min FG% FT% 3P RB AST PTS
97-98 54 19.8 .443 .722 .321 1.5 1.9 6.0
98-99 50 21.0 .401 .846 .333 1.6 2.6 5.0
99-00 39 17.4 .414 .717 .326 1.8 3.0 6.5
Toronto GM Glen Grunwald put it best when asked why he made this deal: "We
needed to make a change there (at point guard). I don't think it was working for
Alvin and it wasn't working for us."
(And now he's on our team! Whoopee!)
5. So basically, the Celts traded Mercer for two bench guys named Williams
and a future #1 pick?
Basically. To make matters worse, Denver re-traded Mercer for a much better
package -- a starting guard (Tariq Abdul-Wahad), an inside scorer off the bench
(Chris Gatling) and a future #1. And Toronto will probably re-package Fortson for
something better than Alvin Williams. Again, it makes no sense. I'm dumbfounded
right now. I feel like Pete Carroll.
One more thing that bothers me: Pitino and Chris Wallace both said that they needed
to move Fortson because they "didn't have enough minutes for him" since Antoine
Walker had settled into the 4-spot. When they made the trade, they thought Walker
would be able to play small forward; they found out this season that he couldn't
guard small forwards OR play on the perimeter. SO WHY DIDN'T PITINO
KNOW THIS BEFORE HE MADE THE TRADE? Jesus, this is only the FIFTH
freaking season he's been coaching Antoine... he never realized until this winter that
Antoine couldn't play small forward?
6. Is there anything more to this story?
There might be. This trade seemed pretty desperate -- almost as if they HAD to
unload Fortson as soon as possible. Was the Fort a divisive locker room force? Was
he bitching about playing time behind the scenes? Did he have a confrontation with
Pitino? Stay tuned... you know the real story will eventually surface.
7. Does anything else bother you about Pitino's role in this?
One thing: Remember how Pitino claimed last March that the #1 pick Boston traded
to Cleveland for Potapenko didn't mean anything because they needed to improve
ASAP and they didn't need another young player?
Well, only eleven months later -- in his retro-defense of the Mercer deal -- Pitino
touts that future #1 pick from Denver (that Boston received) as the best part of the
trade and makes it seem like he would do it again.
(Why the two orders, Colonel? Why transfer Santiago off the base if his life wasn't in
danger?)
8. Is it possible that the Celtics might have over-rated Fortson when they
acquired him?
They might spin it that way -- saying he had trouble adjusting to the new rules and all
that crap -- but don't believe it for a second. They knew what they were getting
when they acquired him last season... they just don't have enough playing time for
him.
As I wrote on Tuesday, he's struggling because he's not playing enough. Fortson is
just like any other rebounder/banger -- the more they play, the more they get away
with because the referees start ignoring them. When Fort comes into the game in the
second quarter and starts throwing bodies around, the referees notice and get their
whistles ready. When he's doing it from the opening tap, they tend to let things slide.
In fact, Fort's best games this season have come when he's been out there for
extended stretches. It's not a coincidence.
9. Any final thoughts?
Yeah, just one: There's nothing worse than when your team makes a dumb trade.
This one just plain stinks -- you don't give something away for nothing in sports. End
of story.
Total Posts: 247
1 thru 10 of 100 posts: Start | Previous 10 | Next 10
From SOIL on Thu, Feb 10, 2000, 09:12:40:
The Celts just never fail to find a way to tie up more and more salary cap.
Why can't they let Fort leave after this season and save the money for a
better player?
From Crows103 on Thu, Feb 10, 2000, 09:08:19:
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED LAST NIGHT!!!!!! It was bad enough that I
was in a dazed state from the root canal a had earlier in the day (The 2
percacets I took made me feel better but cloudy), but when they dropped
the Fortson to Toronto deal last night on Fox I thought I was going to pass
out! I've been a believer in General Pitino for the first three years here. His
dealings didn't always agree with my perceptions of the players involved,
but I just had total confidence that he knew what was going on. Now I feel
like I've wasted all my time defending the guy. Williams SUCKS! I'm sorry,
there is no other way to put it. If it had been Eric Williams traded I would
have kept the faith,BUT DANNY FORTSON!!!!! A legit starter on at least
two thirds of the teams of the NBA. And it's not like Gen. Pitino can use
the Salary Crap mumbo-jumbo because Fort's contract is up after this
year, while Willims is inked up for two more. I've got to stop, I think this
trade is causing my tooth to ache.
From Pete on Thu, Feb 10, 2000, 09:03:16:
Who cares? Does anyone watch the Celtics anymore? The last time I got
excited about a Celts game was early last season, when Paul Pierce
became a rookie sensation. Then he cooled off because of injury, and the
team started to suck again. They still suck.
From Sword on Thu, Feb 10, 2000, 08:44:50:
I think this was the dumbest move every by the Celtics. I mean, Pitino
said that he likes his cureent rotation, with Tony Battie. He said he is
trying to improve his play, despite that big contract. Trade Battie, who is
nothing, and give Fortson his minutes. Then he will be a more valuable
asset. If they can sign bBattie with a big contract like that, they can
certainly trade him or waive him, and give the money to Fortson.
From DJ on Thu, Feb 10, 2000, 08:36:37:
WELL, THE"MASTER OF DISASTER" PITINO DID IT AGAIN. WHAT'S
NEXT?
From posse 22 on Thu, Feb 10, 2000, 08:32:04:
Well, I think I know why you don't write for either the Herald or the Globe,
Potsie....and don't give up your day job to become a professional gambler,
either...I think the internet is where you belong with the other wackos....
From iceman on Thu, Feb 10, 2000, 05:45:39:
Bottom line was we needed a backup pg because Dana's killed us all year
long...we got Alvin Williams, 6'5", defends, shoots it well, and is only in
his 3rd year...I think people overestimated Fortson's trade value...It is
funny that folks actually thought Fort would bring us marquee types such
as Hughes or Rice...As one GM said about Danny Fortson, "you like him
against 10 teams, maybe, and those teams aren't playoff teams."
From awful al on Thu, Feb 10, 2000, 05:07:33:
Does anyone really care? The glory days are gone forever. This team
disgraces the name of the "Boston Celtics". This bunch of stiffs are almost
as boring to watch as our Bruins.
From the shadow on Thu, Feb 10, 2000, 04:01:02:
What the @#$%, Pitino has lost his friggin' mind. Keep Red away from
any sharp objects. When did Pitino get so friggin' stupid. Does he want to
get fired? If the celtics bad trades are all motivated by salary how did we
end up with Eric Williams? These 2 stiffs from Toronto won't help the team
at all. The C's took a big step back with this trade I feel sick about it...
From Sean Marks on Thu, Feb 10, 2000, 03:15:19:
Who am I? How did I get here?