Re: Peter May on What The C's Might Do In The Draft

[Josh Ozersky <josh_ozersky@yahoo.com>]

Peter May really is the biggest asshole in basketball.
 This is one of the best 11th picks in recent draft
history, and he craps all over it.  I also like how he
describes rail thin shooting guard DeMarr Johnson as
"a power player."  I bet May hasn't spent ten minutes
paying attention to who the draft prospects are, other
than what the team tells him about workouts.  I also
find it impossible to believe Vancouver would disdain
the pick for Harrington, which would be highway
robbery for them.  I hate May.  When will he be
relieved of this duty, and replaced by someone who
actually cares about the Celtics?

--- Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> He's out in left field with some of his comments...
> 
> Boston Celtics
> Team Report posted JUNE 15, 2000      
> 
> By TSN correspondent
> Peter May
> Boston Globe
> 
> The Sporting News takes an analytical look at what
> the Boston Celtics
> might do in the June 28 NBA draft: 
> 
> DRAFT NEEDS 
> 
> The Celtics go into the 2000 draft with several
> needs, all of them
> likely to be unfilled by whoever they select if they
> keep the 11th pick.
> They will get someone who eventually will contribute
> and make an impact,
> but there simply isn't anyone who jumps out and can
> provide instant
> help. The teams three main needs are: 
> 
> Interior defense and shotblocking: The Celtics were,
> for most of last
> season, the worst defensive team in the league in
> terms of opposition
> field goal percentage. That was primarily due to a
> soft defensive
> frontcourt and no shotblocking threat. A Theo
> Ratliff-type player is
> what Rick Pitino wants and needs, but there isn't
> likely to be anyone
> available at 11. 
> 
> Backup, defensive-oriented point guard: The Celtics
> dealt for Toronto's
> Alvin Williams at last year's trading deadline, only
> to have the deal
> rescinded when Williams flunked his physical. But
> they need a guy like
> him. The team is vulnerable at this position not
> only in the starting
> lineup, with Kenny Anderson, but off the bench with
> Dana Barros. They
> could use a bigger, Greg Anthony-type who can run a
> team, but also
> defend. 
> 
> Bench scorer: Too often last season, the team went
> into an offensive
> shell when the reserves came into the game. No one
> consistently stepped
> up to provide the offense which, if they want, also
> enables them to get
> into their full-court trap. You don't score, you
> can't press. A
> consistent, 10-15 point bench scorer would be a
> gift. 
> 
> FIVE WHO MAKE SENSE 
> 
> 1) DeMarr Johnson, Cincinnati: He's a 6-9 inside
> power player who can
> help with the team's interior toughness and
> rebounding. He might also
> allow Antoine Walker to eventually move to small
> forward. 
> 
> 2) Jerome Moiso, UCLA: He's got the height (6-11)
> and size to be an
> inside presence, but does he have the fortitude? 
> 
> 3) Etan Thomas, Syracuse: Another bruiser who can
> block shots and,
> unlike the first two, is probably a lock to be there
> at 11. 
> 
> 4) Olumide Oyedeji, 6-10, DJK Wurzberg: They had him
> in for a workout
> and he is an athletic specimen who just needs time.
> He's only 19. The
> team does need more athletic players and this guy is
> one. 
> 
> 5) Iakavos Tsakalidis: 7-2, Greece: He's the best
> foreign center on the
> board and probably third best overall. But he would
> have to be taken
> with the understanding that he might be unavailable
> for a year or more.
> Pitino isn't a guy who likes to wait for anything,
> but this guy has been
> likened to Arvydas Sabonis. 
> 
> DRAFT RUMORS 
> 
> Pitino is, understandably, not enthralled with his
> pick and has been
> shopping it around. The problem is, of course, that
> no one else wants
> the pick either. One possible exception: Portland.
> The Blazers want to
> get into the draft and have an eye for Tsakalidis,
> who Portland would
> not need right away. The price: Jermaine O'Neal, for
> which the Celtics
> not only would have to give up their pick, but also
> a couple players to
> balance salaries. But other teams with better picks
> (Chicago) also are
> interested in O'Neal. The Celtics also have an
> interest in Vancouver's
> Othella Harrington, who wants out of Canada. Again,
> the pick would not
> be enough assuming the Grizzlies would even listen. 
> 
> THE LAST FIVE 
> 
> This will be Pitino's fourth draft with the Celtics
> and, at first, it
> was his way to rebuild the team. But his first two
> picks are no longer
> with the team and he traded his first round pick
> last year. Pitino now
> has recognized the need for veteran leaders and the
> fact that he doesn't
> need any more young players. That's why he'd like to
> move the pick this
> year and had no qualms about moving it last year,
> although that turned
> out to be a poor deal. 
> 
> 1999: Kris Clack, Texas -- He went in the second
> round and played for
> the team in the summer league. But he was not
> impressive enough to even
> warrant an invitation to training camp. The team's
> first round pick went
> to Cleveland for Vitaly Potapenko. The Cavs used the
> choice to take
> Andre Miller, who is precisely what the team could
> have used: a big,
> heady point guard. Miller not only made the
> All-Rookie first team, he
> may, in time, turn out to be a real keeper. Grade:
> F. 
> 
> 1998: Paul Pierce, Kansas -- This one fell into
> Pitino's lap at No. 10
> and has been a real blessing. Although he has his
> lapses, Pierce has
> developed into a bona fide NBA player who, with
> growth, has All-Star on
> his horizon. When you hear other NBA executives talk
> about players they
> want on the Celtics, this guy's name always is at
> the top. Grade: A 
> 
> 1997: Chauncey Billups, Colorado and Ron Mercer,
> Kentucky -- Pitino took
> the Celtics job a couple weeks before the lottery.
> He was counting on
> Boston at least getting the first or second pick,
> which would have been
> Tim Duncan or Chauncey Billups. Ooops. He got 3 and
> 6. Billups went
> third and was gone by February because he wasn't the
> point guard Pitino
> wanted. He should have known that. Mercer went sixth
> and was a solid
> contributor for two years. But the team panicked and
> traded him to
> Denver because it was convinced it couldn't re-sign
> him. They got Danny
> Fortson and a future No. 1 in return. Grade: C 
> 
> 1996: Antoine Walker, Kentucky -- OK, they passed on
> Kobe Bryant. So did
> a lot of other teams. They were happy to get Walker
> at No. 6 and he has
> turned into a solid, if erratic, NBA player. The
> hope is, eventually,
> that Walker will ``get it'' and become the
> end-to-end terror that the
> team feels he can be. So far, he's shown only
> flashes and has been
> consistently terrible at the defensive end. Grade: B
> 
> 
> 1995: Eric Williams, Providence -- This was a good
> pick at the time, No.
> 14 overall. Williams quickly became a starter and a
> dogged defender who
> showed a great ability to get to the line. But then
> he ticked off Pitino
> and was dealt to Denver for two second-round picks.
> He was welcomed back
> last year in the Mercer trade, but the price was
> steep. 
=== message truncated ===


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