catching up...

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

Back from vacation with lots to talk about... 

OK, I like Austin Croshere. I'd love to add him as a free agent. But the
idea of trading Walker to clear cap space for Austin Croshere is insanity.
If you trade Walker, you better get a real player back along with that cap
space. Jerome Williams? Better than Christian Laettner, but stilll... no.
Jamaal Crawford? He better be good.

Look, I can go along with trading Walker if we're talking about dumping
other salaries. Kenny Anderson or Eric Williams included in the deal? Then
I'll listen. Tony Battie? If not, then it doesn't make sense. That's why
I've been saying Pierce is the guy to go. You can deal Pierce, Anderson,
Williams and Battie to clear some REAL cap space, now and in the future. And
Pierce would fetch a better return.

Mercer back to Boston? For the exception, yes. If you have him under
contract, you can use him as he should be used-a scorer off the bench. He's
in the game when Walker or Pierce aren't.

Fortson for Childs? Absolutely. Fortson is a lost cause. He's gone. Forget
him. It's just a question of whether or not Pitino salvages some kind of
return for the guy. Chris Childs isn't going to make anyone forget Magic
Johnson, but he has won a lot of games and a lot of playoff games. And any
trade that gives us an alternative to Kenny Anderson is a good trade. Is
there any way we can expand this to include Kenny?

For the time being, I'd guard that $2 million exception carefully. The free
agent market is going to dry up quickly, and a lot of guys will be left
holding their bags. A starting spot in Boston may look pretty good when
sorting through a handful of $2 million offers.

Mark