Re: Bird's flight path might end at Boston

["Jaime Salud Castillo, Jr." <jaims@philonline.com>]

Wow, this seems possible huh? Really interesting!   I really hope it happens
because of the hopelessness in the team now that everybody sees that Pitino
is NOT CAPABLE  of running and improving the Celtics team.

This is what I must say... according to Bird in his book(Bird Watching), he
would ONLY return to Boston to either coach or be VP if and only if the
owner is not Gaston and Pitino is out of the state.


> Bird's flight path might end at Boston
>
> Will Larry Bird be the next coach and general manager
> of the Boston Celtics? The pieces are starting to fall
> into place for Bird's eventual return to Boston.
>
> Bird said last week he wasn't going to join the Indiana
> Pacers' front office after this season, his final one as
> coach.
>
> ``It will be the same after I'm out two or three years,''
> Bird said. ``But after a while you have to grow up and
> let it go. I've always been interested in jobs in the
> NBA. But I've been in this for 20 years and it might be
> time to do something else.''
>
> Bird said he'll return to his Florida home to enroll his
> kids in school and continue his considerable corporate
> endorsement work.
>
> But friends says Bird would love to return to Boston,
> the scene of his great playing days, in an executive
> capacity. However, they say, he dislikes coach Rick
> Pitino, who helped run him out when he took over, and
> ownership.
>
> ``There's a lot of things I don't like,'' Bird said when
> asked about the team on a recent trip to Boston. ``But
> I'm not going to get into them.''
>
> Though things could change dramatically in the next
> year.
>
> Pitino still is owed almost $30 million on his contract.
>
> But the team shows little chance of making a
> turnaround and Pitino's deals keep backfiring, the
> latest being the trade of Danny Fortson, whom the
> Celtics acquired for Ron Mercer, to the Toronto
> Raptors for lightly regarded Alvin Williams.
>
> Boston sent Williams back, saying he failed his
> physical after a barrage of local criticism about the
> deal.
>
> It was the latest in a series of trades and signings that
> have crippled the Celtics under the salary-cap
> regulations.
>
> The thinking in Boston is Pitino will work out a buyout
> by the end of next season rather than stay in a hopeless
> losing situation and a sale of the team is possible.
>
> Already NBA insiders said there have been rumors of
> exploratory talks though no deal is imminent or likely
> anytime soon.
>
> But if the team is sold, the buyer could come in with
> the hugely popular Bird as general manager or coach.
>
> Hopeless causes: The unofficial second half of the
> season really provides little hope for any of the teams
> not in the top eight in the East making the playoffs.
>
> Orlando, amazingly, is ninth. And how would you like
> to be Boston, New Jersey, Atlanta, Cleveland and
> Washington, all trailing a Magic team that was broken
> up to start rebuilding?
>