NBAtalk takes some jabs at Pitino

["Thomas Murphy" <tfmiii@worldnet.att.net>]

The folks at NBAtalk seem to be getting a bit feisty when the topic is
Coach P. They even overstate the case (Fortson may be a Celtic as long as
Rick?) for rhetorical effect. I guess the teflon is starting to wear. . .

http://www.sportstalk.com/nba/rumors/index.shtml

Pitino Determined to Sink Celtics  So you say a guy is unsignable,
                  trade him for a lot less than his value and then rescind
the trade after
                  tons of peer and media pressure.  What are you going to
do now?  Rick
                  Pitino is going to Disneyland.  Or at least that is where
he's
                  living.  According to the Boston Globe, a day after Danny
Fortson's
                  name appeared in almost every imaginable trade scenario,
Rick Pitino
                  says Fortson may be a Celtic as Long as He Is (read end
of the
                  season). 'Danny Fortson is still on our team, and we're
not going to
                  trade him just to trade him,'' said Pitino. ''It was a
situation where he
                  wasn't happy with his minutes, and his agent, who is a
very good
                  agent, was trying to do what's best for his client. So it
was either trade
                  him, or make a [financial] commitment, and we're not
prepared to do
                  that. But right now, we'll stick with him and see what
happens.'' As for
                  Pitino's job, he's on the defensive according to the
Boston Herald.  And
                  of course that means, He's Bringing Up the Tim Duncan
Excuse Again.
                  'I think what people have a short memory with is a year
and a half or
                  two years ago, they were a non-competitive 15-win team
with terrible,
                  terrible contracts. And now we are a competitive team.
That's the hand
                  I was dealt. If we had (Tim) Duncan right now, we'd be
kicking
                  ass. But we don't. Look, anybody can get fired. But if
people want to
                  say it is my fault we're not there because of my eternal
optimism of
                  trying to make the playoffs, then good.'