[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
RE: Heat play-by-play guy
I hope you're right about Fortson Josh, but my point isn't that Fortson is a
bad player, only that he no longer has a place on this team. I'm not pining
for Mercer by any means, just saying that he has more value around the
league now than Danny does. Is that because of the injury and his diminished
role? Maybe, but it doesn't make it any less true.
And to say Eric Williams is an asset on both offense and defense stretches
the definition of "asset" until it breaks. You couldn't unload Williams for
a second round pick even if you offered to pay his salary. As for Battie,
he's in his third season now. Again, inconsistent is being kind. I think
he's become pretty damn consistent. He's always bad. He was the fifth pick
in the draft, but outside of that stretch at the end of last season, he's
never done anything to show he was worthy of that kind of investment.
We agree that the pick could be awfully valuable, and I said as much in my
earlier post.
Mark
-----Original Message-----
From: Josh Ozersky [SMTP:josh_ozersky@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2000 4:48 PM
To: Berry, Mark S; 'j.hironaka@unesco.org'; Celtics@igtc.com
Subject: RE: Heat play-by-play guy
I disagree. We still haven't seen the real Fortson.
Pitino said you wouldn't see him till february. And
what he can do, very few players in this league can
do. When he is himself again, you will see him get
plenty of minutes. Antoine is versatile enough to
slide over for ten or fifteen minutes a game. The
abuse he gets from quick forwards will be more than
made up for by what he will do to them on the other
end, and what Fortson will do for us at the 4 or 5.
Assuming Fortson plays anything like he did last year,
this trade is still highway robbery for us. We're
better without Ron; Eric Williams is not a "cap
disaster" who "just can't play anymore," but an asset
on both offense and defense; and the pick could turn
out to be another Antoine Walker or Kobe Bryant for
all you know.
Issel's a moron. Even if Tony doesn't pan out, he's
clearly no "el busto." He's an inconsistent player
who has only shown flashes of what he can do.
--- "Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG> wrote:
> Couldn't agree more, Joe. I didn't mean to elevate
> the Nuggets anymore than
> they are, just point out that Issel seems to have
> made some pretty good
> personnel decisions. The Nugs certainly seem to be a
> team on the rise,
> providing they can either re-sign Mercer or turn him
> into another quality
> player. One caveat: They do not have a first-rounder
> this year (Orlando has
> it) or, most likely, next year (Celtics have the
> option to take it, with
> some protection for Denver).
>
> We're a better team since the Mercer-Fortson trade,
> and so is Denver. I
> supported the trade from the beginning, but
> circumstances since it happened
> certainly seem to point to a lopsided edge to the
> Nugs. Fortson's injury
> forced Toine to the PF spot, where it now appears he
> is destined to spend
> 35-40 minutes per game. It also opened the door for
> Adrian Griffin, who
> charged through and now also seems like a 30-40 mpg
> guy. There's no way
> anyone could have known all of this was going to
> happen.
>
> Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you
> look at it), it did
> happen. So the Celts are left with Fortson, scraping
> for backup minutes, on
> the last year of his contract. The Nugs have Mercer,
> averaging 20 ppg
> (admittedly a one-dimensional 20), in the last year
> of his deal. Let's
> assume both teams decide to trade these players. In
> all honesty, who will
> get the better return? You'd have to believe the
> Nuggets.
>
> So we're left with Eric Williams (a cap disaster who
> just can't play
> anymore) and, maybe the saving grace, Denver's No. 1
> pick in a future draft.
>
> Through no fault of Pitino's or Fortson's, the
> landscape of this team has
> changed. Walker is the PF. Period. Griffin is going
> to play big minutes.
> It's becoming more and more clear that Fortson is
> the odd man out. I expect
> him to leave either via trade before the deadline,
> by a sign-and-trade after
> the season or simply by walking as a free agent.
> Personally, I hope we
> salvage something and deal him at some point.
>
> And Joe, you're right about the Celts. Injuries have
> crippled them. And I'll
> second your opinion of Kenny. He's been great. When
> he, Pierce and Toine are
> healthy, this team can be a headache for anyone.
>
> I really didn't mean to get into this Fortson-Mercer
> thing again, but I do
> think it's shaping up as one of those "who knew" bad
> trades. Not because
> Mercer's gone (we're better without him), but
> because in the end, we didn't
> get equal value in return.
>
> Mark
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: opi@unesco.org [SMTP:opi@unesco.org]
> Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2000 2:16 PM
> To: Berry, Mark S; Celtics@igtc.com
> Subject: Re: Heat play-by-play guy
>
> "Berry, Mark S" wrote:
>
> > (You know, considering that was Issel's
> assessment of Battie, and
> that he
> > also concluded Fortson would be hampered by the
> new rules, that
> LaFrentz
> > wouldn't be another BWS and that Van Exel would
> mature into an
> effective PG,
> > I'm beginning to think Mr. Issel just might be a
> pretty good judge
> of NBA
> > talent.)
> >
> > Hoping for a win tonight,
> >
> > Mark
>
> Hi Mark, nice post overall. I just wanted to
> interject that the
> Nougats have
> only 18 wins and are five games out of the playoff
> race at the
> season's
> midpoint. But the more important point of
> comparison is that they
> haven't had
> any real injuries this season other than Billups
> (who sports a
> forgettable
> .337FG%).
>
> As for the Celts, start with the fact that Paul
> Pierce has basically
> missed ten
> games (included the two games he left after 11 or
> fewer minutes). If
> you assume
> our 1-9 record in those games would be closer to
> 5-5 had he played,
> then the
> Celts would be 23-18 (good for second place in the
> Central among
> other things).
> Then you can add that the Celts have had injury
> DNPs from Griffin (9
> games and
> counting), Fortson (25 games), Potapenko (3 games),
> Eric Williams (5
> games and
> counting), Cheaney and McCarty (8 games) as well as
> Barros (4
> games).
>
> This season is kind of a testament to Kenny
> Anderson's guts. He
> hasn't missed a
> single game despite the hamstring injury. Antoine
> too, but he's
> known to be
> pretty durable.
>
>
>
>
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger.
http://im.yahoo.com