Re: FW: Fortson deals

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

Josh,

I hope this is true, but I find it all hard to believe. Fortson for Childs,
with cap crap to make it work, I could believe. But Fortson for Patterson
and Maxwell? Seattle wouldn't do Patterson for Fortson straight-up at the
deadline, so why now? And why would they do that with Rashard Lewis making
goo-goo eyes at the Raptors and Bulls? Sounds fishy. 

The expanded Knicks deal also seems a little odd. Why would the Knicks give
up Camby or Thomas (actually a free agent) for a lesser player, Fortson? And
why wouldn't the Celtics be interested in either of those guys, instead of
Childs and a first-rounder?

It all sounds like wishful thinking on our parts. My bet remains on Childs
or Bimbo Coles with some combination of garbage thrown in to make it work.
In other words, a whole lot of garbage changing teams. If Pitino can land a
Patterson or a first-rounder for Fortson, it will be a great move, but I
don't see it happening. More importantly, this kind of minor deal really
doesn't do much for the C's. I'm still waiting for that major move. Maybe it
will be Toine to Chicago after all, since all the big-ticket free agents
seem to be steering clear of the Windy City. But what do the Bulls have that
makes it worthwhile (assuming Brand is out of the question and Fizer is
headed to Portland for O'Neal). Jamal Crawford? That's a start. Crawford and
Ron Artest? Not enough, but if Pitino also uses the cap space to land
Croshere, or the trade exception to land a player, maybe.

I still say Pierce... oh, you know what I say.

Finally, I'm cautiously optimistic about the direction Pitino seems to be
taking in reshaping the team this summer. He's trying to find players who
fit the style he knows. We all know Pitino's first year was his best,
despite lesser talent. He did it with Billups, Mercer, McCarty, Walker,
Knight, DeClercq and Co. functioning well in the press. It seems Pitino is
trying to go back to that blueprint while improving the building materials.
I hope so. At least that style was interesting. Watching the Celts the past
two seasons has been miserable.

Mark